By Maria Moctezuma, Sylvie Kirsch and Julianna Bragg, CNN
(CNN) — As lawmakers hold town halls in their home states during the current congressional recess period, members from both parties continue to face tough questions and criticism that Congress is not doing enough to counter the Trump administration.
Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson faced critical questions over Trump administration actions at a town hall on Thursday in Iowa. Several audience members directed pointed questions at the congresswoman, asking when congressional Republicans will take action to rein in the president.
At the outset of the event, Hinson said that she and other Republican members of Congress are working alongside the Trump administration to “undo damage that happened, frankly, during the President Biden years.” The statement elicited a mix of applause and loud boos.
One audience member asked the congresswoman, “When will you and your Republican colleagues take back your legislative power to rein in President Trump?” The question received loud applause and cheering.
“When are you going to rein that power back in, you’re not, you’re losing – the executive branch is running the other two branches right now,” the attendee said.
Hinson responded, “I think we will probably have a fundamental disagreement in this room about that because when I look at what Congress is doing, we are working on executing exactly what we campaigned on doing and what the president campaigned on doing.”
Fewer Republicans have held in-person town halls than Democrats throughout the recess period. While some town halls have been relatively calm and quiet, others have erupted with shouting and yelling from the crowds. In those instances, contentious audience questions have frequently focused on how members of Congress are responding to actions taken by the administration, including efforts to dramatically overhaul the federal government and slash spending.
One man in the audience who identified himself as a veteran said, “If I had done what President Trump has done or what Mr. Hegseth has done … then I would’ve lost my clearance and been court martialed. Yet these people seem to be going on and they’re putting our military in harm’s way by doing so. Congress needs to step up and do something.” The audience applauded loudly in response.
Hinson thanked him for his service and, as she began to respond to the question, she said, “It’s my understanding that nothing that was actually classified was communicated in those chats.” In response to that comment, the crowd began loudly booing.
Toward the end of the town hall, an attendee said, “There’s a war here on competence, on science, on truth – and I want to know when Congress is gonna stand up and say, ‘Too much is too much?’”
‘How about you just stand up for us?’
Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington state also faced frequent yelling and disruptions from a town hall crowd on Thursday.
The congresswoman at one point was asked, “This administration is illegally deporting immigrants without due process, subverting Congress with the dismantling of vital agencies like the CFPB that protect us – why are we not hearing anger and fight from you?”
She responded, “Being angry, being loud feels good, but is it a productive long-term strategy?” A chorus of voices from the crowd yelled out, “Yes!”
“How about you just stand up for us?” someone in the crowd shouted.
“You betrayed the people who voted for you,” someone yelled out.
At another point during the event, the congresswoman was asked: “What are you doing to hold this administration accountable for their continued unlawful actions, including the use of the messaging app Signal?” As the question was being read aloud, someone in the crowd yelled out, “Nothing!”
Some attendees shouted expletives. While the congresswoman was answering a question about building more affordable housing, one woman in the crowd yelled out, “You’re so full of sh*t.”
Another question asked Gluesenkamp Perez to explain her decision to vote for the SAVE Act, a GOP-led bill to require documentary proof of US citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.
It is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections, and critics of the measure have warned that it threatens to wrongly disenfranchise millions of legitimate voters. Gluesenkamp Perez was one of only four House Democrats to vote for the bill.
While the question was being read aloud, someone in the crowd could be seen holding up a sign that said, “Shame.”
“Americans believe that only US citizens should be determining the outcome of American elections, and any idea that I’m standing to disenfranchise people is patently false,” the congresswoman said.
Members of the crowd booed and yelled in response. As she continued speaking, people in the crowd could be seen gesturing thumbs down.
“The reality is that this bill will not become law,” the congresswoman said. “I’d really encourage you all to read the actual text of the legislation.”
“People stop listening to you when you say that things are going to be so bad and then they don’t happen. We don’t want to become in a position where we’re like the boy that cried wolf all the time particularly when what is happening is so catastrophic,” the congresswoman said.
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