By David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The few congressional Republicans still willing to hold in-person town hall meetings in their home states are facing heated criticism this week over President Donald Trump’s policies and the prospect of deep cuts to social safety programs including Medicaid.
With the Republican-controlled Congress preparing to move forward on Trump’s agenda to cut taxes, tighten border security, promote fossil fuels and bolster military spending, the feedback lawmakers receive from constituents could determine how far they go in cutting environmental initiatives, the Medicaid healthcare program and others that benefit low-income Americans.
“If the town halls are filled with angry constituents worried about the impact of budget cuts, that’s going to bring some cold feedback to Washington. If the reaction in the district is more muted, members of Congress might come back and say ‘full speed ahead’,” said Jessica Riedl, a former Senate aide who is now a senior fellow at the right-leaning Manhattan Institute.
An overflow crowd in Fort Madison, Iowa, confronted Senator Chuck Grassley with concerns about the impact of Trump’s tariffs on farmers, the potential effect of spending cuts on low-income Americans to pay for tax cuts and what some viewed as a need for Congress to check Trump’s disregard for federal courts.
Congressional Republicans are debating how sharply to cut spending to cover the costs of extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which nonpartisan analysts could add more than $5 trillion to the nation’s $36.6 trillion in debt.
Three protesters were arrested, including two who were overpowered by police with stun guns, at a town hall meeting in Georgia hosted by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who dismissed concerns about tariffs and spending cuts as a result of brainwashing by the news media.
Grassley and Greene are among a relatively few Republican lawmakers to hold in-person town halls during their ongoing two-week spring recess, after several public meetings erupted into shouting matches earlier this year over the Trump agenda and efforts by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to fire federal workers and cut federal programs.
Reuters/Ipsos polling this month shows that 43% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance so far, with the president getting poor marks on his handling of the economy and inflation — key campaign issues — and respondents wary of his campaign to remake the federal government.
Trump’s approval rating remained higher than it was for most of his first term in office, and above what Democratic President Joe Biden enjoyed for most of his term.
“Why won’t you do your job, senator?” Grassley was asked by a man who complained that Trump’s deportation operation had sent people to prison overseas without due process.
Others alleged the Trump administration was defying court orders in refusing to work to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia from an El Salvador jail after admitting that the Maryland resident, who was living in the U.S. illegally, had been deported in error.
JEERS AND CHANTS
Jeers ensued when Grassley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Congress has no power to return Abrego Garcia and that El Salvador is not subject to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Faced with questions about potential cuts to social safety-net programs, the 91-year-old Republican asked one audience member if she favored work requirements for a federal nutrition program that aids low-income families.
“No. That sounds like waste, fraud and abuse,” the woman replied, while another audience member suggested that administering work requirements could increase the cost of the program.
A similar wave of constituent anger erupted in former President Barack Obama’s first term when conservative Tea Party activists disrupted public events, a signal of anger ahead of the 2010 midterm elections when the Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives.
In Acworth, Georgia, Greene took no direct questions from the audience. Instead, she read off pre-screened queries, including some that expressed concerns about possible adverse impacts from Trump’s tariffs and potential government funding cuts to Medicaid and Social Security.
“Well, Sara, unfortunately, you’re being brainwashed by the news that you’re watching,” the firebrand conservative replied to one questioner. “As far as Medicaid, Social Security, libraries and more, what we’re doing is, we’re removing waste, fraud and abuse.”
Greene, a leading advocate for people who were arrested during the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters, told her audience at the outset of the meeting that boisterous objections would not be tolerated.
“This is a town hall. This is not a political rally. This is not a protest. If you stand up and want to protest, if you want to shout and chant, we will have you removed,” Greene said.
Acworth police said six people were removed from the meeting, including a man who shouted “False!” when the conservative firebrand called Democrats “the party of violence.”
One protester was shot with a stun gun at the back of the room after scuffling with police, as some audience members cheered and applauded.
“This is a peaceful town hall,” Greene intoned as several police officers hustled him out the door.
Attendants were required to register for the event ahead of time and provide identification showing that they lived within Greene’s district.
Greene’s town hall ended soon after police escorted out a man shaking his fist in the air. “That’s an illegal alien!” the congresswoman exclaimed. Members of the audience chanted: “USA! USA! USA!”
(Reporting by David Morgan and Bo Erickson; Editing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell)
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