Lawmakers clash with constituents in heated town halls

GOP Rep. Harriet Hageman faced a hostile crowd on Wednesday as she attempted to drown out the noise and answer questions.

Shouts of “January 6” and “tax the rich” flooded a town hall in Laramie, Wyoming, on Wednesday.

Hageman said she liked the opportunity to do town halls “because it lets me come here, give you an update on what I’m doing back in Washington, DC.”

Her statement, according to CNN, prompted a swift response of “nothing” from one man.

Hageman was greeted by boos as she tried to address the town hall.

“If you have so little respect for our process and for what we are in this country, then I would ask you to leave.” she said.

Voters have expressed their frustrations in several town halls across the country in recent days as they publicly vocalize their dissatisfaction with those in office.

Constituents have criticized Republican members of Congress about President Donald Trump’s executive power.

They also criticized Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency efforts.

Other Democratic members have faced complaints of being disorganized and not fighting Trump hard enough.

Hageman attempted to speak on DOGE and its efforts to reconfigure the federal government at one point.

She said to the constituents at her town hall on Wednesday,

“Here’s the only thing that DOGE has done, it’s so bizarre to me how obsessed you are with federal government.”

She was immediately interrupted with jeers of disapproval and loud boos.

“You guys are going to have a heart attack if you don’t calm down,” Hageman told the crowd after repeatedly attempting to take control.

Democratic Rep. Sean Casten was interrupted several times by pro-Palestinian protesters during his own town hall Wednesday night in Downers Grove, Illinois.

He warned that people “are going to decide not to come to town halls anymore because it’s not productive.”

At one point, a man jumped onto the stage with Casten.

It prompted the congressman to tell the crowd he would step off the stage and call the police.

“Sir, get off the stage! Get off the stage!” Casten yelled at the man.

In another instance, a woman in the audience stood up and yelled at Casten about US support going to Israel.

“Ma’am, can you please sit down? Ma’am, ma’am, ma’am… what is your point in disrupting this event? I recognize your face, you have disrupted many events,” Casten responded.

Police asked the congressman to end the event and send everyone home after several heated exchanges.

The town halls on Wednesday night illustrate growing signs of unease and dissatisfaction from constituents across the country.

GOP Rep. Rich McCormick of Georgia faced some tough criticism and occasional boos from constituents.

This was inside February as he fielded questions about the Trump administration’s early actions.

At one point during his February town hall, McCormick was pointedly asked about the firings of hundreds of workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Why is a supposedly conservative party taking such a radical and extremist and sloppy approach to this?”

“I’m in close contact with the CDC.

They have about what, 13,000 employees, 13,000 employees at the CDC.

In the last couple years, those probationary people, which is about 10% of their employee base, about 1,300 people, which you’re referring to.

A lot of the work they do is duplicitous with AI,” McCormick said.

The mention of AI led to “no’s” and murmurs from the crowd.

This further led to the Republican representative saying, “I happen to be a doctor. I know a few things.”

GOP Rep. Cliff Bentz faced a similar reaction from his constituents during a town hall last month in La Grande, Oregon, where he also received questions on DOGE.

One constituent asked, “Since DOGE was created without the Congress, who is paying for it,” leading to applause from the crowd.

“The DOGE committee, as I understand it, is being filtered into, if that’s the right word for (it) or put into another agency,

“but we are looking into that now to find out. I don’t know the answer.”

He was then interrupted by some boos and jeers of disapproval.

Some of the tough criticism and oftentimes angry remarks have led to police action.

One man who identified himself as a veteran was escorted out of a town hall in Asheville, North Carolina.

It was after he shouted in protest following GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards’ comments about voting for the House budget resolution.

Edwards told CNN following the town hall, “There were so many people that took time to be there, that took time to put questions in the box that they wanted answered.

I believe it’s part of the democratic process, even though it might be uncomfortable from time to time. I think town halls are necessary.”

Other members of Congress showed more frustration about the matter.

GOP Sen. Roger Marshall left his town hall earlier this month in Oakley, Kansas.

Marshall left after a larger-than-expected crowd pressed him about DOGE cuts including jobs held by veterans.

Fears of angry protesters have deterred some in office from going in front of crowds.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer postponed planned book tour events in several cities citing security concerns.

It came after receiving heavy backlash from within his caucus and the Democratic base.

This was over his decision to vote to advance a Republican-led funding bill last week.

Local chapters of Indivisible, a progressive group created in 2016 after Trump first took the White House, had planned protests around events for the book tour.

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