Who does Troy Downing work for?

The smiling face of Troy Downing greeted me at the mailbox last week to signal the official start of his first reelection campaign for his Second Congressional District seat in Eastern Montana.

Of course, he already filed his paperwork back in February with the Secretary of State office in Helena but his mailer – that we paid for — reminding us “The Tax Season is HERE!!” was certainly news we can use with the filing deadline two weeks to go. Better late than never.

Did you notice the tag line under his mailer headline? Following the Trump dictate to congressional Republicans, Downing saluted the tax-relief largesse as due to the “Working Families Tax Cuts” because that phrase polled better than “The One Big Beautiful Bill” that he initially hailed as “a Big Win for Big Sky Country.”

Middle-income taxpayers and many seniors will benefit from the OBBB. But those gains were offset by GOP cuts to health care programs and food stamps. Result: Overall, the changes will harm more than will help poor and lower- to middle-income families, many in the Second District.

It is difficult to determine whether Downing is primarily representing Eastern Montana voters – the people who elected him in 2024 – or if his primary constituent is the lord of 20 acres in Palm Beach County, Fla. 

But Downing has experience in representing another jurisdiction than his “home turf.” 

U.S. senators must live in their home states, but no such restriction applies to the House. Downing, like an estimated other 55 representatives among 435, live outside their home districts. While he retains a Helena house as a voting address purchased when he was state auditor prior to joining Congress, he and his wife and children have a family home in Bozeman in Ryan Zinke’s district.

His Helena 1,082 square-foot house with a taxable value of $579,100 compares to his south Bozeman 6,017 square-foot residence with a taxable value of $2,283,200.

Nevermind where he spends his weekends and recesses. His  “X” and Facebook postings show his occasional district appearances, most often referencing his “great conversations” with this group or another but provides no real information about questions people asked him or what he learned to inform his legislative work. 

Downing’s pattern in the district focuses on locations of his own choosing for topics of his preference. Downing follows the National Republican Congressional Committee instruction to opt for tele-town halls rather than in-person town halls to avoid situations where constituents can challenge him about his support for Trump administration actions. Downing has dutifully held seven one-hour telephone events but zero in-person.

Yet he is a frequent special guest promoting Trump talking points on national cable channels such as Newsmax and Fox Business and the “Montana Talks” radio program, praising virtually anything Trump and lashing in the most strident language any opposing view. It would seem Democrat-inclined, non-partisan, and third-party voters who make up about half of Montana voters don’t matter all that much to Troy Downing. 

• But in deference to Trump, don’t expect him to criticize the president’s 2027  defense budget proposal of  $1.5 trillion – a 40% increase – in the context of a national debt that has topped $39 trillion. 
• It’s the congressional Democrats who “completely blew up the DHS funding plan,” he told Newsmax. Of course, the GOP plan was totally reasonable, no consultation necessary.
• Speaking of the unpopular surprise attack on Iran coordinated with – or at the instigation of Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu? – Downing got out a little ahead of the game saying, “What we’ve done is we’ve neutralized a world threat.”
• Downing says the public would have a better view of the war, er, “excursion” but “the media is so reluctant to give credit to this administration that it’s just pain for them.” Another view is that the public can see for itself how the war now involves 20 nations from just three. 
• “If there’s one person on the planet that can solve this problem right now, it’s Donald Trump,”  Downing said of relations with Russia although he can’t point to any gains coming out of the meeting.
• Referring to Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace,” he called it “an incredible legacy for this administration.” But, Troy, Gaza is still in chaos.

One would almost think with these messages of adoration, Downing is bucking for one of Cabinet posts being vacated. Perhaps attorney general?

Peter D. Fox is a retired journalist who also held executive positions in state government and nonprofit organizations during his career. A political independent, he lives in Big Timber and expects a lot from those who are elected to Congress and the state Legislature.