Sen. Bill Hagerty speaks at Kingsport Chamber's Federal Legislative Brunch

KINGSPORT — A crowd of business representatives and local elected officials gathered Thursday for the Kingsport Chamber's Federal Legislative Brunch with U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty. Hagerty, R-Tenn., shared his remarks at the Cattails Ballroom in the MeadowView Marriott Conference Resort & Convention Center. Kingsport Chamber President and CEO Miles Burdine introduced Hagerty and thanked him for representing Tennessee in the U.S. Senate. "He cares not only about veterans, but he cares about the citizens that he represents," Burdine said. "I see Mayor Patty Woodby over there. When Hurricane Helene hit, our senator was up there numerous times. I had the chance to watch him operate and bring all kinds of resources, all kinds of money, to this region." Since being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2020, Hagerty said he hopes his actions have given the region confidence that he has the "interests of Tennesseans at heart." He shared how the Trump Administration has made drastic changes from the previous leadership team — mentioning topics like border control, inflation and tariffs. "Roll forward to 2024, that election, I think the American public had a chance to look back on what had happened the prior four years and say, we need to turn a different direction," Hagerty said. "Strong leadership was required, and I felt confident that we would take control of the United States Senate." Hagerty said he filed a complaint to the Federal Communications Commission last week after Verizon released the senator's phone records to President Joe Biden's Special Counsel Jack Smith. He called the subpoena "clearly a constitutional violation" targeting Trump and his allies. "Right after Donald Trump announced [his campaign], a fellow named Jack Smith was hired as a special prosecutor for the days he raided Mar-a-Lago," he said. "A couple days after that, he took my phone records from Verizon without permission, in violation of the Constitution. Verizon handed over my phone records to Jack Smith and his team." Overall, Hagerty said he is optimistic that the United States will see more capital investment, jobs and economic activity this year and beyond. "There are some very positive things happening here in America," he said. "All of you that are here, that are oriented for business, that are investing in our economy, that are creating jobs, I want to say thank you. Because we recognize that you are the engine of our economy, and that our economy is the source of our national security." In a post-event interview, Hagerty told reporters that the partial government shutdown impacting the Department of Homeland Security — which includes the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — is misguided. "Frankly, the problem isn't ICE," Hagerty said. "It's a lack of cooperation with ICE. What they're doing is they're harming TSA [Transportation Secuity Administration] officers, Coast Guard officers and FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency]. I hope they come to their senses next week, they've turned down every offer so far." For later stops in Kingsport Thursday, Hagerty was also scheduled to attend the Eastman Employee Appreciation Lunch, tour Eastman's methanolysis facility and visit AccoyaUSA.