Junior Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., defended President Donald Trump's actions in his first 10 days in office, saying that voters in his state are "not confused" by the federal aid freeze.
In an interview with NBC News, Justice said West Virginians trust and support Trump, who carried the state with 70% of the vote in November. His interview came before a federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the freeze on federal grants and loans.
"The way you tackle a problem is first of all, you freeze everything, you stop everything for a time period where you can really get your hands around it and make the right decisions," said Justice, who replaced retired Democrat-turned-independent Joe Manchin.
"Do you really, honestly, believe that President Trump is going to take away the free lunches of kids? There's no way. There's no possibility," Justice said.
"He'll make the right moves on the chess board, but we've got to give him time to get his arms around it," Justice added. "You can't get your arms around if it's a moving target."
Justice also vowed not to be a rubber stamp on every Trump policy that comes across the Senate floor.
"But at the same time, I'm going to be very supportive, because my values are conservative values."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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