It was the first town hall of the year for Kennedy and Maloy, Utah’s newest Republican representatives, who touched on a number of issues related to Congress, the Trump administration and federal spending.
But the night was defined by the crowd of roughly 300 people, most of whom were there to protest.
Before Kennedy was even in the building, a woman shouted “you f——r” at him as he stepped out of his car. As a congressional staffer told the crowd there would be an opening prayer, it was met with cackles from a woman in attendance. Just a few minutes in, Kennedy suggested to police that they should remove a man he dubbed “Mr. Outburst.” “Let me finish my answer,” became a common refrain from Maloy during the night. And as Kennedy, who left a few minutes before Maloy, went to take a selfie with the crowd on his way out, dozens of people stood up to give him the middle finger.
No one was removed or arrested during the event. But both lawmakers struggled to get their points across as the audience shouted and booed, many of them holding up signs that read “Musk or us!” “Fight for women’s rights,” and “Make Congress stand up for democracy again.” Dozens of people held up small pink pieces of paper with “bulls—t” written in bold, black lettering as the lawmakers spoke.
Town hall events have not been easy for lawmakers as of late, with protesters and unruly constituents clashing with speakers over billionaire Elon Musk’s involvement in the federal government, support for Israel, the pardoning of people involved in the Jan. 6 riots and more.
On Wednesday, Wyoming Republican Rep. Harriet Hageman faced jeers and boos as she tried to answer questions. That same evening in Illinois, Democratic Rep. Sean Casten was interrupted by several protesters critical of his support for Israel.
The backlash over some of the Trump administration’s policies is so severe that earlier this month, Republican House leaders warned GOP lawmakers to stop attending in-person events with constituents. During an interview with Fox News, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said town halls were being overrun with “paid protesters” and are no longer an effective way to communicate with constituents.
Maloy addressed Johnson’s comments at the beginning of the event, telling the audience she’s “gotten a lot of advice to not hold town halls because they’ve been getting rowdy.”
“We both chose to be here because, one, I think it’s my job to stand up here and talk to you. But also, I think we can do this. I think in Utah, we can have tough conversations,” she said, to the tune of applause.
But it would be one of the rare signs of support from the crowd on Thursday.
“I’m here to answer questions—” said an exasperated Maloy later on, before constituents shouted, “no you’re not!”
“You’re deflecting,” one person yelled.
Throughout the night, Maloy and Kennedy fielded questions from the audience on a range of issues, including Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, cuts to the National Park Service and Internal Revenue Service, the power of the executive branch, threats to Medicaid and Medicare, immigration policy and more.
“I think we have a unique opportunity right now, that I haven’t seen in my lifetime, where Republicans and Democrats agree that the executive (branch) is too strong. I think while we’ve got this opportunity, we should put some safeguards back in place,” said Maloy.
“The executive branch is already too powerful. They’ve wielded strong power for too many years,” Kennedy added.
Both lawmakers tried to emphasize due process and patience, telling the crowd to give the Trump administration time for its policies to play out; they accused people who claim Congress will cut Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security of “fearmongering”; and they said reigning in spending and the deficit would require difficult decisions.
“I have a lot of sympathy for the issues that you’re here talking about,” said Maloy. “We are not going to get out of the situation we’re in financially without all of us feeling some pain. And I know people are going—”
Once again, Maloy was cut off by an explosion of boos and shouting protesters.
Of particular concern Thursday was the reduction of the federal workforce, including the firing — then rehiring — of about 1,000 National Park Service employees.
“I also love our National Parks … but even the National Parks have got to be efficient and wise with their dollars,” said Maloy, in between boos. “If park staff is doing good work and their budgets are efficient, we should keep them … but there’s no reason not to evaluate the parks.”
Kennedy echoed Maloy, telling the audience that people from all over the world come to Utah’s five national parks, bringing their money with them.
“For us, to make sure our national parks work, we’ve already seen the response. They fired a bunch of people … and then we actually hired those people back, plus extra,” he said. “I’m also very focused on making sure those national parks work.”
People in attendance had varying reactions to the town hall after Maloy and Kennedy left. Some felt the shouting was valid, others wished there could have been a more civil discourse.
Riley Beesley with the Utah Federation of College Republicans called it a “disgrace.”
“We got nowhere today. And that’s the whole point of this,” said Beesley, one of the few Republican supporters in attendance.
“I would’ve thought that Utah would hold themselves to a higher standard,” said Beesley, a constituent of Maloy’s. “I would have thought that the Utah Democrats would be more respectful.”
Tara Stauffer, who lives in Kennedy’s district, said it’s good to see people passionate about politics and showing up in force to events like Thursday’s town hall.
“I never approve of people being disrespectful. So I wish that wouldn’t have happened. But I really do think it’s time for our elected officials to get out and hear the people,” she said.
This report was originally posted at UtahNewsDispatch.com.
