By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) — Almost two months into President Donald Trump’s second term, the chairman of the House Republican campaign committee is already predicting his party will pick up seats in the midterm elections some 20 months away.

Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., is in charge of increasing the GOP’s slim majority in the House, or at least defending it. After Republicans met privately this past week with Elon Musk, Hudson said the cuts pushed by the Department of Government Efficiency are resonating with voters.

With disruptions at GOP town halls during the recent break, Hudson and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have told Republican lawmakers to skip the events for now and meet with constituents elsewhere. Nevertheless, Hudson said Republicans are confident their budget-cutting is “on the side of the angels.”

Here’s the political outlook from the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee as he confronts Democrats trying to win back the House in 2026. This Q&A has been edited for brevity and length.

What was your advice about holding town halls?

HUDSON: “I just said that, it’s very important that all of us are communicating with our constituents, are very visible in our districts, very accessible. And it’s a shame that Democrat organizations are paying people to disrupt in-person town halls. And so this normal dialogue that we want to have with our constituents isn’t possible at in-person town halls. So we need to use technology to reach our constituents.”

Do you think the DOGE cuts will be a tough sell?

HUDSON: “I think it’s the greatest thing that’s happened since I’ve been in Congress.”

“My biggest frustration as a member of Congress is these massive bureaucracies that hide all their spending and when I ask questions or send letters, ignore it. And now it’s all mapped. You can see it all. There’s transparency for the American people. Now we can go in and decide, do we like the taxpayers’ dollars being spent on this program? Yes. Let’s keep it. This one? No, let’s cut it. I mean, we actually can do our job.”

“It’s exciting. It’s exhilarating.”

Do you feel any blowback back home from people losing their jobs, cuts to veterans?

HUDSON: “(Musk) did say that the the the firings at the VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) were a mistake done by that agency, by the VA.”

“He said mistakes were made by bureaucrats.”

What do you make of the 80,000 cuts at the VA?

HUDSON: “I’m disturbed when I hear veterans are being fired. I think we ought to give veterans priority. But, you know, I do acknowledge that there may need to be firings in all these agencies.”

“When it comes to the VA, for example, what I’m concerned about is giving world class health care to our veterans in a timely manner. And so any waste, fraud and abuse that makes that difficult or messes that up, I’m interested in cutting.”

What’s your message to the fired federal workers, what do you say to them?

HUDSON: “Hang tight.”

What’s that mean?

HUDSON: “I mean there may be some mistakes that are being corrected.”

Do you think that will be an OK message for other GOP lawmakers to use?

HUDSON: “The American people are sick of the swamp. They’re sick of waste, fraud and abuse. For the first time. ever, we finally have the tools to affect it. So I think the voters are going to reward us.”

Democrats envision a repeat of Trump’s first term, when they won back the House?

HUDSON: “I think they’re digging their own grave politically.”

“We’re on the side of the angels. We’re doing what the American people asked us to do, what 77 million people voted for Donald Trump to get.”

“We’re going to pick up seats.”