U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner held a telephone town hall with nearly 10,000 participants Wednesday ahead of a meeting scheduled with President Trump.

The Republican has come under increasing fire for refusing to hold in-person town halls, especially while he was back in Colorado last week for the February congressional recess.

But Gardner said Wednesday that telephone town halls offer a way to still connect with constituents. He moved the phone call up by about a half hour to accommodate the president’s schedule.

“I wanted to move the call and still have the call so I could visit with you ahead of the meeting with the president so that I can bring your concerns and questions to the meeting with the president,” Gardner said. “The people of Colorado are my greatest resource.”

About a dozen wide-ranging questions were asked by callers from Colorado during the more than 40-minute call, including questions on Russia, a rise in hate crimes, controversial executive actions by the president, the precarious state of legalized marijuana, health reform and energy policy, to name a few.

Callers were first screened by Gardner’s staff, though the office says it was not looking to eliminate hard-line questions.

A handful of callers went out of their way to point out that they were not paid to participate in the tele town hall, alluding to comments by Gardner that protests reflect an organized, potentially paid movement to attack Republican lawmakers.

Activists last week held an “in absentia” town hall in Denver with a cardboard cutout of Gardner to demonstrate that the high-profile senator would not commit to attending the meeting. The telephone town hall raised many of the same questions asked last week.

“What are you going to do to protect the human rights and civil rights of Muslims, refugees and immigrants in your home state of Colorado,” one caller asked.

Gardner stressed that he opposed Trump’s executive orders barring travel from seven Muslim-majority nations and targeting refugees, calling the moves “overly broad.” He also condemned a recent uptick in hate crimes since Trump became president, including attacks on Jews and Muslims.

One caller questioned why Gardner is seemingly voting in lockstep with Trump. But gardner pointed out that the votes have revolved around cabinet choices.

“Elections have consequences,” Gardner said. “Had it been Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders who were elected to president, I’m sure I wouldn’t have liked some of the positions that the cabinet members took, but … those officials would have been confirmed.”

On Russia, Gardner was asked whether he supports aggressively investigating any business or personal ties Trump has to Russia, especially considering allegations of tampering in the recent election and possible coordination between Trump advisers and the Kremlin.

“This is an investigation that is being carried out by the intel committee and the FBI right now, and I think it’s premature to say anything about the U.S. attorney general office’s investigation,” Gardner responded. “Let’s wait and see what the outcome of this investigation is before anything else.”

Perhaps the question that rises to the top of the priority list for constituents is health reform, as the Republican-controlled Congress weighs a repeal. The question is what the Affordable Care Act will be replaced with.

Gardner stuck to a familiar talking point of increasing access. He pointed to personal stories, including a daughter who struggles with health problems, a mother who survived breast cancer, and a father who has recently been in and out of the hospital.

“They have coverage, but do they have access?” Gardner asked of consumers under the Affordable Care Act. “They aren’t able to use it because of the high cost of their insurance – they can’t afford the deductible.”

When it comes to recent comments by the White House signaling a potential crackdown of the legal marijuana industry, Gardner said he is concerned because it marks a departure from assurances given to him by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. His office has asked for clarification from the White House.

And on energy and environmental policy, Gardner stuck to his usual points of calling for an all-of-the-above approach, while also focusing on good Samaritan legislation to resolve tens of thousands of leaking toxic mines.

Gardner’s office said it plans to host additional telephone town halls.