By Brendan Scanland
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WZMQ 19 News) — Constituents across the country are expressing their frustration with the Trump administration at local town halls.
Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have been met with protests and outrage from the citizens they represent over the administration’s government downsizing efforts. This has been a growing issue for all members of Congress, but especially for Republicans who choose to have town halls in their districts, as well as those who do not.
Concerned citizens have been showing up, calling out and questioning their elected representatives largely over what Elon Musk’s downsizing efforts mean for them and the services many of them rely on.
With lawmakers out of D.C. and back in their districts this week, there’ve been a growing number of fiery town halls and protests. Democrats are being criticized by constituents for not being unified and not having a game plan to push back against the administration. Whereas Republicans are facing strong criticism over the President’s tariffs, Trump’s treatment of Canada and “DOGE” downsizing.
Many Republican lawmakers are attributing these fiery town halls to far-left groups who they say are organizing the events.
Some Republican members are staying away from in-person town hall events despite calls from their constituents to hold them. It’s important to note, many of them hold telephone or virtual town halls, and have been doing so for years, as opposed to in-person.
WZMQ 19 News reached out to the office of Congressman Jack Bergman (R- MI) for answers to the following questions:
– Does the Congressman believe these events are being organized by Democrat-led groups?
– Has the Congressman held any recent town halls? Does he plan to in the near future?
– Has your office received requests from constituents to hold a town hall?
“Far-left organizations are putting together so-called town halls not only across the First District, but throughout the country. Indivisible, the Soros-funded left-wing group, is hosting another fake town hall in the First District this week. Rep. Bergman will not now, or ever, attend a town hall hosted by a Soros-funded organization… Rep. Bergman has held multiple community engagement events, met with thousands upon thousands of constituents in the District, and remains available for one-on-one meetings with all of his constituents – regardless of their political leanings… As a reminder, the Congressman won his election just a few short months ago by over 100,000 votes. He is doing exactly what he said he was going to do,” said James Hogge, Communications Director for Rep. Jack Bergman, in a statement to WZMQ 19 News.
Constituents at town halls across the country are also expressing concerns and outrage over the President’s immigration policies and the economy. However, DOGE-related actions including federal layoffs, cuts and what they mean for things like veteran’s affairs and vital services like Medicaid, seem to be the biggest concerns.
