McCormick is one of several Republicans to face angry constituents as the Department of Government Efficiency slashes and dismantles federal agencies.

“I will continue to have in-person ones, but I’ll control the environment much better. I think we can improve on it,” McCormick said. 

McCormick repeatedly tried to calm the riled crowd at his event last month, but ultimately failed as constituents questioned cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is headquartered near his Roswell district.

His town hall in particular went viral as House Republicans returned home for a week-long break, attracting over 3 million views on a video CNN posted to TikTok alone. Subsequent reporting has shown some town halls were advertised by liberal groups, but there is so far no evidence the attendees were paid.

Next time, McCormick says he plans to remove people if they begin shouting and will ask voters to keep their questions brief, but he admitted he is not rushing into another event after the negative encounter with constituents.

“I’m not in any big hurry because once again I don’t want to be hijacked,” he said.

McCormick has emerged as a rare critical voice of DOGE since the town hall, specifically chiding X CEO Elon Musk for wielding a chainsaw at a recent conservative conference.

He told reporters he planned to express to President Donald Trump that more compassion needs to be shown as Musk, the de facto head of DOGE, conducts mass firings of federal workers, including hundreds of CDC workers.

The agency has since reportedly asked some of those workers to return to their prior roles.

“First of all, you don’t take out a chainsaw and take pictures,” McCormick said. “You say, ‘I realize this is going to cause hardship, and I don’t want that to be the case.’”

“When somebody signed up for that job with good faith, you know, we gave some people the ability to adjust, maybe give them a window to adjust, help them find the next job,” McCormick added. “Make sure you’re compassionate, if nothing else, be compassionate. Realize that’s a hardship for those families and that that needs to be treated delicately, not with callousness.”  

McCormick said he looks to two former presidents when making decisions as a legislator: Calvin Coolidge as a “great administrator” and Ronald Raegan as a “great communicator.” 

In his own interactions with constituents, McCormick said he is trying to take a page out of Reagan’s book, describing him as someone who could paint a positive vision of “what America was and what America is.”

“America is a great country for wealth, innovation, charity, philanthropy, all the good things,” he said.

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McCormick hopes to paint this picture for his constituents. 

“As I’ve told many Republicans, you’ll be far more influential if instead of trying to win an argument, you win a friend because nobody cares about you being right,” he added.