Several Republican lawmakers have faced backlash from constituents in recent days over President Trump’s sweeping cuts to the federal government, which have been spearheaded by the Department of Government Efficiency, a task force led by Elon Musk.
With the House in recess, many members of Congress have held town halls and attended other events in their districts this week, giving their constituents a chance to confront lawmakers in person to express their discontent about budget cuts and the layoffs of federal workers by DOGE.
Rep. Rich McCormick, a Georgia Republican, clashed with constituents throughout a packed town hall in Roswell on Thursday. One attendee pressed McCormick on why the administration was taking “such a radical and extremist and sloppy approach” to the layoffs, noting that the administration has tried to rehire some employees working on bird flu and the nation’s nuclear weapons programs after they were fired.
Another, who said she was a descendent of Patrick Henry’s sisters, said “tyranny is rising in the White House” and Mr. Trump has “declared himself king.” She pressed McCormick on what he would do to “rein in the megalomaniac in the White House.”
“When you talk about tyranny, when you talk about presidential power, I remember having the same discussion with Republicans when Biden was elected,” McCormick responded.
McCormick, who received loud boos for his response, then compared the crowd to the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, seeking to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election. That led to another round of boos, with some attendees yelling, “Shame!”
Maggie Goldman, who lives in Roswell’s district, told CBS News that she helped organize some of the people who attended the town hall, adding that many were not supporters of Mr. Trump.
“I think there were conservatives there,” Goldman said. “I think there were Republicans there that were also not happy. I think the person who asked the question about firing was basically saying he was conservative, and he’s like, we do want to cut down where we need to, but you do that methodically.”
In Oklahoma on Thursday, Republican Rep. Kevin Hern’s constituents told him they were concerned about Musk’s influence and asked whether Congress would conduct oversight of Mr. Trump and Musk. Hern deferred oversight of the Trump administration to the judicial branch, according to News on 6.
In Wisconsin, Republican Rep. Scott Fitzgerald told constituents Thursday he has never been briefed on DOGE, as he faced pushback on the task force and calls for Congress to subpoena Musk to testify.
“Certainly, the discussion in and around DOGE and the probationary moves that have already been done, they are going to have to be scrutinized at some point by the Ways and Means Committee — where the expenditures will be made — and by the other standing committees, but we just aren’t in that position right now,” Fitzgerald said, according to TMJ4.
The local news outlet also reported that the Washington County Democratic Party had encouraged people to show up to the meeting with Fitzgerald with signs.
Republican Rep. Nick Begich of Alaska held a telephone town hall on Monday, where a constituent told the congressman his top priority should be the “strength and resilience of our democracy” and began asking him about checks and balances on the executive branch before the call went silent.
“I’m a lifelong Republican,” the man said. “But I am in the majority, I think, with a lot of Americans, a lot of Alaskans, that are really concerned that we have an executive branch that is more than willing to push or remove the guardrails that are on the executive branch and what we need from Congress and from the courts is to play that checks and balances role, not not to oppose obviously —”
Begich said that he’s received many questions on the topic and expects challenges to the Trump administration’s actions to end up at the Supreme Court.
“If the Congress or the executive branch steps outside of its constitutionally defined boundaries, the courts step in and realign and say, ‘Hey, you’re out of bounds,'” Begich said.
At his own town hall in Baker City, Oregon, on Wednesday, Republican Rep. Cliff Bentz told constituents there’s a “serious question” about the limits of the president’s constitutional authority in reducing the federal workforce, the Baker City Herald reported. But Bentz, too, said the courts would ultimately hold the administration accountable.
A woman in tears told Bentz that Congress should take responsibility for the “unsustainable” budgets that have been passed since Mr. Trump’s first term “instead of expecting us working-class folks here to pay for your mistakes.”
“And then blaming it all the Democrats and expecting the judges to bail us out, when you have plenty of power yourself,” she said, noting that she is an independent voter. “I’m all for fiscal responsibility and downsizing the government. We’ve been through downsizing before and you can do it in a way that is humane and treats people with dignity.”
Several Senate Republicans are concerned about the impact the budget and workforce cuts will have on their states, but have been hesitant to directly criticize Mr. Trump and Musk.
and contributed to this report.