Republicans face town hall wrath over health care vote
WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers across the country have faced crowds of angry constituents after they returned home to try to justify their votes on the Republican health care bill last week.
Democrat-aligned groups have promised to try to make House members who voted for the Republican health care bill, called the American Health Care Act, regret their vote. And opponents of the bill are attempting to show their ire over provisions they say will cut coverage, especially for those with pre-existing conditions.
Many Republicans, having seen rowdy crowds at earlier town halls this year, opted not to attend or hold meetings open to the public during the recess.
Walkout: Iowa Rep. Rod Blum was one of few Republicans to publicly defend his vote for Trump’s health plan, which he did at a contentious town hall in Dubuque, Iowa. One constituent complained that the House rushed the vote for Trump’s health care bill, saying “This is not how democracy works. And you know that.” Blum agreed. “I have always said the process was bad, that it was rushed, it was rushed and there should’ve been hearings,” he told the crowd.
Blum walked into the event immediately after abruptly ending an interview when asked why the town hall would be strictly limited to district residents.
For shame: New York Rep. Elise Stefanik was greeted by protesters chanting “Shame! Shame! Shame!” at her Plattsburgh town hall at a public television station. The 100 people chosen by lottery to be allowed entrance were joined by about 250 protesters.
Inside, Stefanik faced questions about “the rich getting tax breaks” in the health care bill, and was heckled when the audience felt she dodged the question. Stefanik was the only person in attendance to defend the bill.
Bipartisanship: Rep. Jeff Denham, surrounded by protesters at a community meeting in his California district, described the Republican health bill as, “bipartisan, both parties working together,” prompting one woman to respond that there was “not one Democrat that voted for it,” as the crowd jeered.
Safer option: New York Rep. John Faso attempted to avoid the worst of it by having an event with seniors in Kingston on Monday, capped at 100 attendees who had to sign up and submit questions ahead of time. But he was still beset by jeers, applause for critical questions, and a call from the audience for everyone with a pre-existing condition to stand up.
Unsolicited stand-in: Faso declined to attend an open town hall later the same day in his district, and, in fact, has not attended any open town hall meetings in his district, which he described as “shouting-and-screaming sessions.” In his place, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, a Democrat who represents a neighboring district, attended the town hall to hear Faso’s constituents out.
Maloney said he had received calls from people in Faso’s district unable to get through to voice their complaints about the Republican health care bill, and recommended other Democrats “adopt” districts whose Republican representatives refuse to hold town halls.
Faso’s spokeswoman Courtney Weaver called the meeting a “purely partisan political rally,” and said Maloney “reverted to form as a hyperpartisan seeking to advance himself in the eyes of his patrons in Albany and Washington.”