MTPR is airing interviews with candidates running for federal office in 2026. MTPR's Shaylee Ragar speaks with Troy Downing, a Republican running for Montana's eastern U.S. House seat.
Shaylee Ragar: Congressman Downing, thanks for making the time today.
Troy Downing: Well, thank you for having me.
Shaylee Ragar: We're going to just dive right into the questions. What makes you the best person for this job?
Troy Downing: Oh, what makes me the best part? I've got the broadest experience. I think I've proven myself as actually representing this district in DC. And that goes back to my previous job as the state auditor, making sure that CMS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, making sure the folks understood the realities of a rural state and the issues that we have. And with the successes that I've had in Congress and formerly as the State Auditor, I think it gives me a broad amount of experience in issues that we deal with. I'm a former land commissioner. I've dealt with state trust land issues. I am a former Air Force aviator, so I've got a military background. I'm a former businessman. I've built businesses. I've made payrolls. I've practical experience. And I think my track record speaks for itself.
Shaylee Ragar: Moving on to some issue-specific questions, starting with agriculture, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the tariffs that President Trump enacted, saying he overstepped his congressional authority. Do you agree with that ruling? What do you make of it?
Troy Downing: Well, I think that the ag sector is one of the biggest drivers in Montana's second district. It's something that I take very seriously. My son-in-law supports my daughter growing grain in the middle of the state, so it's something that's near and dear to my heart. But the trade issues have had an impact, and we need to make sure that the administration understands what the president is trying to do is make sure our trading partners are dealing fairly with the United States of America. And I've been talking to our producers, our ranchers, our farmers, and they're concerned about the cost of inputs. They're concerned with the costs of equipment parts. So these have been some short-term pains, and we need to make sure we have stability moving forward.
Shaylee Ragar: How do you balance the protection and development of Montana's natural resources?
Troy Downing: I am actually on the bipartisan public lands caucus to make sure that we are protecting our natural resources. Also, having been a land commissioner on the Board of Land Commissioners, the Land Board for Montana, you know, understanding really what the goals are with our public lands. And I go back to the original BLM ideas of multiple use and sustained yield and make sure that we are really thinking about that multiple use. Everything from, you know, managing timber stands to recreational use to hunting and fishing and everything else we like to try to do with our land.
But the other part of that is to make sure that we do it in a way, when you say sustained yield — make sure that you can do it in a way that that resource is going to be there forever. But then also making sure that you're protecting the jobs that are also using that land but they're doing it in a sustainable and reasonable way.
Shaylee Ragar: I want to ask about one other issue with the caveat that things are changing rapidly: the war in Iran. The president wrote on social media previously that if they could not strike a deal, "a whole civilization will die," referring to Iran. Do you–
Troy Downing: Well, I'm not sure he was referring to Iran, and I would say, obviously, the president is known for some hyperbolic rhetoric. And I would make the assumption that he was referring to the Islamist regime and not necessarily to the people of Iran on that part. But let's get to the root of the problem. And this is not a Trump issue, this is a global issue, and this is not a Republican versus Democrat issue.
Democrat presidents, Democrat leaders, as well as Republican leaders for quite some time — for almost fifty years — have understood that there is a problem with Iran and have all agreed that we cannot ever allow a terrorist Islamist regime to have access to nuclear weapons and that's been clear on both sides. And It's not just our friends and allies in the Middle East. This is a global security issue to make sure that they can never ever possess a nuclear weapon. And there's a lot of parts that come with that, with the intended goals of reducing their — or eliminating their ballistic capabilities, their naval case capabilities, because if they have either of those, it makes it harder and harder to monitor whether they are enriching uranium; whether they're working on nuclear weapons.
But this planet is not safe if Iran is ever allowed to have a nuclear weapon. And this president is making sure that they don't. In terms of the rhetoric, I'm just going to say that obviously the president is known for some hyperbolic rhetoric. But I think that the goal and even showing that he has a bilateral two-week ceasefire to get to this point with Iran, it shows that he's in deal-making mode.
Shaylee Ragar: Thanks for taking the time today. Thank you.
That was Shaylee Ragar speaking with Congressman Troy Downing, who's running for reelection. The interview was conducted on April 7, the day President Trump and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire.
