Rep. Andy Barr to business leaders: I support DOGE, President Trump’s tariffs and tax cuts
Kentucky Congressman Andy Barr on Wednesday defended cuts made by President Donald Trump, asked for patience on possible tariffs on bourbon and other Kentucky products, and said the spiraling national debt meant the country had to tamp down on spending.
The Lexington Republican, in office since 2013, also told attendees at the Commerce Lexington luncheon to contact his office if there are concerns about federal funding cuts.
“Come to our office. We will weigh in on your behalf,” Barr said. “ The whole exercise of DOGE is not to end a lot of these worthwhile funding streams. It is to segregate the waste, fraud and abuse, corruption and mismanagement.”
Barr’s comments came as about 100 protesters gathered outside the Hyatt Regency and Central Bank Center, where Barr spoke, protesting many of Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency actions.
Barr is also a mulling a run for Sen. Mitch McConnell’s seat in 2026 now that the 83-year-old has announced he won’t seek another term. Barr said after Wednesday’s speech he has not made a decision yet on when he will make an official announcement.
At the luncheon, Barr hit back at critics of the Department of Government Efficiency and Musk. Musk is an adviser just like any other executive branch adviser, Barr said, and DOGE is identifying possible waste and abuse and is making recommendations.
Those recommendations are made to cabinet-level officials, who then make decisions, he said.
Musk, however, is also Trump and the Republican Party’s biggest donor, spending at least $288 million on Trump and other Republican candidate campaigns in 2024, according to the Washington Post.
Barr touted also DOGE’s claims of saving taxpayers $105 billion, a number that has been widely disputed.
When asked about the possible loss of funding to the University of Kentucky, Barr said he did not think National Institutes of Health funding, which UK has said it could lose as much as $40 million, would be cut.
“I think we can make a strong case for National Institutes of Health. It does have (a return on investment),” Barr said.
Barr also defended Trump’s decision to up tariffs on products from Canada, Mexico and other countries. The European Union announced counter-tariffs, including on bourbon and beef, last week.
Barr said some of those tariffs are for products critical to national security. However, long-term those tariffs will help Kentucky products access more markets. For example, India recently decreased its tariffs on Kentucky bourbon, he said.
Many of the country’s current trade agreements are not fair and that hurts Kentucky exports, he said.
“I understand that tariffs in the short term create some uncertainty,” Barr said in comments after his speech.
“But in the long term, this is the right policy because it has the enormous potential to open up markets to our exporters and provide a level playing field for American businesses,”
Barr’s position on tariffs is different than Kentucky’s two Republican senators.
McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul have criticized Trump’s tariffs.
To grow the economy, the country must decrease the national debt, Barr said. It’s now at $36 trillion, the highest it has been since World War II.
DOGE is trying to cut waste from the federal government, but more cuts are needed, Barr said.
The recently passed budget resolution, a six-month budget passed in place of a federal budget, calls for even more cuts in programs such as Medicaid, a federal and state health care program for the poor and disabled.
The continuing budget resolution also carries over multiple tax cuts that Barr argued must continue or “there will be the largest tax increase in history.”
Protesters and town halls
Many of the protesters gathered in front of the Hyatt on Wednesday said they have tried to contact Barr but have yet to hear from him.
Patty Abell, of Lexington, said she joined the protest because Barr hasn’t returned her messages. She has concerns about what Trump and Musk are doing, particularly removing people from the country without a hearing or due process.
“Andy Barr is one of the most unresponsive representatives that I have ever encountered,” Abell said. “There are many serious Constitutional issues. I feel like this is the administration of fear and hate.”
Commerce Lexington, the sponsor of the event, sent policies to all of the luncheon attendees that warned those who attended could face removal if they repeatedly interrupted a speaker. It did not mention Barr by name.
No one interrupted Barr’s speech Wednesday.
Barr also has been invited to a community town hall Saturday at downtown Lexington’s Kentucky Theater to answer questions about DOGE and other parts of Trump’s agenda.
Barr said he is holding a virtual town hall on Monday instead so all of his constituents can attend.
“Democracy is alive and well, and for those who think that there is some threat to democracy, I think today’s demonstration shows that there is no threat to democracy,” Barr said in response to questions about the protesters.
Barr said town halls during Trump’s prior administration turned into shouting matches and were not productive, but he does want to hear from constituents, he said.
This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 4:36 PM.
