WASHINGTON — For months, Republican lawmakers have been faced with frustrated constituents airing concerns about the Trump administration and DOGE cuts. Now, Democrats are starting to feel the brunt of it.
Democrats huddled last week before the recess period to strategize messaging and how to target their Republican counterparts as they adapt to the everchanging political environment under President Donald Trump. Democratic lawmakers across the country held town halls, expecting to tear into their GOP counterparts over budget cuts and workforce reductions.
Instead, they were faced with a similar anger — and a growing frustration that Democrats aren’t doing enough to fight back against the Trump administration.
What are constituents saying
Utah Reps. Celeste Maloy and Mike Kennedy were among the latest to face angry voters at a town hall this week, with the pair getting drowned out during their hourlong event on Thursday.
Nearly the entire room raised their hand to indicate they were there to express frustration with the Trump administration and to demand that Congress do more to be a check on Trump over his disregard for court rulings, his unprecedented deportation methods and his Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
Despite the pushback, Maloy told the Deseret News that airing those concerns is a crucial part of democracy and that she “want(s) to have more town halls with the hope that Utahns are willing as well.”
“Our country faces big challenges including $36 trillion national debt and an administrative state lacking accountability,” Maloy said in a statement. “Solving big challenges requires tough conversations and tough choices. That’s why holding town halls is so important. Listening is the first step towards having a meaningful conversation.”
Democrats face the music
Democratic groups last week launched a nationwide blitz known as “The People’s Town Halls” to visit congressional districts of vulnerable Republican lawmakers, accusing them of hiding from their constituents amid growing criticism.
The idea comes after House GOP leaders advised party members earlier this month to hold events virtually rather than in person to avoid protesters. Democrats planned to seize on that guidance by targeting Republicans on their home turf as well as by holding town hall meetings in their own blue districts.
What they didn’t expect is that the same constituents who are concerned by the GOP agenda are also growing upset with Democrats for failing to put a stop to it.
That frustration came to a boiling point after last week when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and nine other Senate Democrats voted to advance Republicans’ government funding bill to avoid a shutdown. Several Democrats viewed the move as a surrender to Republicans, criticizing Schumer for not utilizing the party’s only point of leverage, a filibuster, to sink the spending bill.
And now Democrats are dealing with the aftermath.
“You’re not fighting!” one woman shouted at Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., during a town hall this week. “We are suffering!”
“Schumer has done what I think is the most destructive thing that he could possibly do as Democratic leader,” another constituent yelled to Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., at a separate town hall.
It’s a reckoning that comes as Democrats are struggling to identify a leader of their party who can guide them on messaging and strategy. The last few weeks have left Democratic lawmakers at odds with one another but with a growing sense of urgency to get on the same page before the 2026 midterm election cycle begins in earnest.
Republicans don’t have it easier
While Democrats attempt to straighten out their party’s priorities, Republicans don’t necessarily have it easy despite holding control of Washington.
GOP town halls this week were also flooded with constituents interrupting lawmakers’ remarks and demanding action to rein in DOGE and the Trump administration. Maloy and Kennedy experienced that treatment during their joint town hall on Thursday, and several other Republicans engaged in tense exchanges with their constituents.
Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., faced bouts of booing and heckling during a town hall this week, during which the Wyoming Republican sought to downplay fears about the unfettered access Musk seems to have with the Trump administration.
“It’s so bizarre to me how obsessed you are with the federal government,” Hageman told attendees. “You guys are going to have a heart attack if you don’t calm down. I’m sorry, your hysteria is just really over the top.”
Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., also held his first in-person town hall this week, only to be met with boos and yells throughout his remarks for his stances on Musk, DOGE, Trump’s tariff threats, negotiations on the Ukraine-Russia war and more.
At one point, Flood tried to speak over the yells as he sought to calm down the crowd.
“Let’s remain calm, let’s remain calm, let’s remain calm, and let me remind you, if you’re gonna ask me a question, let me answer the question,” Flood said. “If you’re gonna ask me a question, you have to let me answer the question.”
“I know that some of you in this room are angry, I know that some of you in this room are emotional, and I know that some of you in this room are concerned. I also know there are people in this room that feel very strongly in the opposite direction, that things are going in the right direction,” Flood added later on in the event. “I need an opportunity to tell you or give you an answer, and then you can ultimately decide if you’re pleased with that or not.”