U.S. Representative Matt Van Epps (R-TN-07) defended his congressional work ethic and highlighted his perfect voting record during an exclusive sit-down interview Tuesday with The Tennessee Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy, as the freshman congressman campaigns for reelection ahead of the November 3 general election.
Van Epps, who has cast all 364 votes since taking office, discussed his congressional workload, relationships with local officials, legislative accomplishments, and differences with Democratic nominee Darden Copeland during his appearance on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
“We haven’t missed a vote yet in Congress, 364 of 364 for a 100 percent voting record,” Van Epps said, describing the work ethic he and his team carried from the campaign trail into Congress.
Van Epps also pushed back against criticism of his work ethic, saying Copeland had questioned his presence in the district despite his record of attending congressional votes and participating in local events.
“He questioned my work ethic…a few weeks ago,” Van Epps said. “So he said, ‘Hey, we don’t see Matt anywhere.’ And I truly think it was because I had made some comments at one of the over 200 events that I’ve personally been at in the last 10 months.”
“In these 200-plus meetings we’ve done, we’ve met with businesses, nonprofits, elected officials at every level of government. We’ve met with schools, and we’ve gone to churches, and you name it. We’ve been trying to get out there and build that, and that’s what we believe in. I’m a team guy from the very beginning. Baseball, football guy growing up in school, from West Point, in the Army. I just really believe that teams are strong, and we’ll always put our team first, Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District being our team,” he added.
Van Epps said his office has also prioritized his congressional responsibilities, including his committee assignments on Homeland Security and Science, Space, and Technology.
“We have prioritized leaning in on our committee assignments on Homeland Security and Science, Space, and Technology, and doing the work and showing up, and we’ve gotten accolades for both me and the team from those committee chairmen,” Van Epps said.
He added that he and his team visited all 14 counties in the district during his first three months in office and kept in regular contact with local leaders.
“We’re going to add the Tennessee General Assembly members on a monthly call starting in January,” Van Epps said, adding that he plans to expand his existing monthly calls with county mayors and sheriffs.
The congressman also discussed the district’s upcoming boundary changes, which will reduce the number of counties from 14 to eight beginning in January while adding Sumner, Trousdale, and Macon counties. Van Epps said the new district is about 47 percent new, requiring his campaign to work across a broader geographic area.
During the interview, Van Epps contrasted his military background with Copeland’s campaign messaging, pointing to what he described as inconsistencies in the Democrat’s presentation to voters.
Van Epps, a West Point graduate and combat veteran who served as an Army helicopter pilot, said his military experience helped prepare him for the demands of Congress.
“I think the military training, the West Point experience, the time as a plebe, as a freshman, is a very exacting, very regimented schedule,” Van Epps said. “And when you’re going through it you don’t fully appreciate what it’s all for until later on when you’re in harder Army training, Ranger school, survival school and then eventually in combat.”
He added, “I’m very blessed to have had those experiences that I can rely on today as we’re working nonstop now to deliver for TN-07.”
Van Epps also discussed his first major piece of legislation, the Major Non-NATO Ally Terror Threat Assessment Act, which passed the U.S. House in July. The legislation requires the Department of Homeland Security to assess terrorist organizations operating in countries designated as major non-NATO allies and those countries’ ability to counter the threats.
“In seven months, we passed our first bill out of the House,” Van Epps said. “That’s what we’re going to keep doing.”
The discussion then shifted to the differences between Van Epps and Copeland as Election Day nears.
The congressman specifically criticized Copeland’s positions on abortion and his support for State Representative Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville), arguing that those positions do not reflect the district’s values.
“We’re just talking about facts. We’re highlighting who our opponent is in this…The fact is that he didn’t get into this race until he saw some kind of political opportunity, we believe. And the fact is that after he lost his last race, he was out there campaigning for, supporting, endorsing Aftyn Behn, the AOC of Tennessee, supported by the socialists, supported by the communists, says she hates Nashville, hates country music, did not back down from comments about burning down police stations, was actively stopping federal law enforcement operations as a sitting member of the Tennessee General Assembly,” Van Epps said.
“We know that if he had the opportunity to get into office, that’s what he would do. He would side with the far left,” he added
Van Epps urged Republican voters to turn out in the November 3 election, saying the outcome would affect Congress’s direction.
“We need Republicans up and down the ticket. Up and down. We’ve gotta have this. This is how we hold the line in Tennessee,” Van Epps said.
Van Epps, who has received President Donald Trump’s endorsement, faces Copeland and two independent candidates in the November 3 general election. Early voting in Tennessee runs through Thursday.
Tune in now to The Michael Patrick Leahy Show – your AMERICA FIRST news talk!
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
