'You Asked For The Job. Go Do It,' Christie Tells GOP Lawmakers On Town Halls

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has a message for Republican members of Congress who've been avoiding town halls: Go do your jobs.

Speaking on CNN's "State of the Union" with Jake Tapper on Sunday, Christie addressed the issue of angry town halls that have erupted across the country in recent days and said getting yelled at is part of the job as an elected official.

"Welcome to the real world of responsibility," said Christie, the former head of President Donald Trump's transition team who has held more than 160 town hall meetings over his two terms as governor of New Jersey.

Town hall meetings have come into focus over the last two weeks, as crowds angered by Trump's actions in the early days of his administration have filled rooms across the country, demanding answers from members of the House and Senate on a number of issues, including the Affordable Care Act and immigration.

In response, some members of Congress — including several in New Jersey — have refused to hold public town hall meetings or to attend ones arranged in their districts, claiming professional protesters are being paid to come in and be disruptive. Tom MacArthur of New Jersey's 3rd District is one of several who've opted for "tele-town halls," conference calls where constituents can call in, because public events are "being hijacked by groups outside their districts."

"I like hearing divergent views," MacArthur said on one of his tele-town halls. "I don't want to be baited into having an outside event that can become a spectacle."

"The fact is that right now, the heat is on the Republicans, it's on us," Christie said to Tapper. He said that with Republicans holding the White House, Senate, House and two-thirds of the statehouses in the country, "it's on us to produce results."

"We asked for the authority to change the country," Christie said. "One of the things we need to do is engage with the public."

Christie, who is well-known for his in-your-face style and has never shied from confrontations at his town hall meetings or other public events, said professional protesters are just something that goes with the territory.

"The teachers union in particular sent lots of people with T-shirts and signs that were premade and that were taking me on in a big way and an inaccurate way," he said of some of the confrontations that have occurred at his town halls. "We understand a lot of these protesters are professional protesters, people with an agenda, but you gotta work through that."

"In New Jersey, if I walked away from every town hall where I got yelled at, I would have never done one," he said. "I understand why members of Congress don't like it, but you know what? You asked for the job. Go do it."

Questioned by Tapper on the issue of a special prosecutor to look into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia in the wake of contacts between White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Andrew McCabe, assistant director of the FBI on the topic — a call coming primarily from Democrats so far but echoed Friday night by California Republican Darrell Issa during an interview on "Real Time with Bill Maher — Christie said a special prosecutor isn't necessary.

"The Justice Department, over the course of time, has shown it has the professionals and the ability to investigate these things," Christie said, adding that a special prosecutor all too often leads to things "getting completely out of control.

"We've seen it happen on both sides," he said, calling the push "an overreach" by Democrats.

Christie, a former federal prosecutor, said the contacts between Priebus and McCabe were inappropriate but that he believed they were the result of the lack of government experience of Priebus and faulted McCabe as well.

"I would have sat him down," Christie said of McCabe. "You need to have the sensibility of a prosectuor when you're dealing with these things because you never know where they will lead."

As for Priebus, Christie called his actions "a mistake" and that Priebus would be unlikely to make the error again.

"Reince Priebus has great integrity," Christie said. "I don't think he did anything wrong but I do think that is something where perception matters."

"What we should do here is take a deep breath and be able look into these matters in a way the American public will think has integrity to it," Christie said.

Gov. Chris Christie at a town hall meeting in New Jersey. Patch file photo