Rep. Rudy Yakym on RV industry, tariffs, and town halls

ELKHART, Ind.--- Congressman Rudy Yakym was in Elkhart Thursday, touring the RV Technical Institute and hearing from industry leaders. ABC57's Annie Kate followed him on the tour and had the chance to speak to Indiana's Second District congressman one-on-one.

"We started with a roundtable with RV industry leaders, of course, the RV industry is the leading employer group here in Elkhart County," Yakym said. "We talked about a lot of issues that they are facing, how they're working to create more jobs here in the district, and the issues that are important to them that I'll take back to Washington D.C."

From suppliers to dealers to manufacturers, industry leaders voiced their concerns to their representative, largely targeting national uncertainty and tariffs. However, leaders were not willing to give ABC57 specifics.

"Of course, they talked about issues like inflation, which is still coming down, they talked about tariff issues, which we are certainly being their voice inside the administration on, and a number of other issues that are important to the RV industry," Yakym said. "They're certainly giving us some loud and clear feedback about the issues they're facing, even specifically to tariff issues relating to Canada and Mexico, and how they'd like to see those things resolved. And our job, of course, is to give that feedback directly to the administration."

One member of the roundtable Thursday was Casey Tubman, President of the Newmar Corporation.

"Now, there are more things in the news like prices, tariffs, things of that nature, and again, it's just that fluctuation up and down," he said. "So now, again, for us, it's a matter of settling it down and giving them that confidence. So that's what we voiced with him."

Yakym's tour in Elkhart comes at a time when his constituents-- and a lot of constituents nationally-- are trying to speak directly with their Republican congressmen. Many of those voters are angry about the second trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency cuts spearheaded by Elon Musk.

ABC57 has received emails, complaints, and calls about local GOP congressmen not being available to meet with voters. Yakym, though, says he's hitting the pavement.

"We do travel, as much as I possibly can, to all 11 counties, every single month, hear from Hoosiers, hear what their concerns are, then take those concerns back to Washington," he said. "As we travel around Indiana's second district, and we seek to have productive conversations in productive formats."

Coincidentally, there is a "Where's Rudy" rally set for Friday at noon outside his Mishawaka office. That rally is organized by the Michiana Alliance for Democracy, which says it's a member of the Indivisible Network.

"What would you say to those folks who are getting upset, who want to have that facetime with you?" Annie Kate asked.

"Well as you can see, even just from watching our social media pages, we are very accessible around Indiana's second district," Yakym said. "Every single day that I am not in Washington D.C. and back here in this district, we are out on the road, listening to Hoosiers, listening to what's on their mind, and taking that feedback back to Washington D.C."