Republican lawmakers continue to face hostile receptions at in-person town halls this summer, as constituents vent frustration over President Donald Trump’s sweeping domestic policy bill and other parts of his agenda.
On Monday, that anger reached Northern California, where Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., was jeered and heckled at two forums in Chico and Red Bluff, reportedly his first in-person town halls in nearly 8 years. Attendees challenged his support for Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” pressed him on deep cuts to the social safety net, and accused him of backing tariffs that threaten local farmers.
During the forums, LaMalfa rejected claims that the bill harms veterans’ care or Medicaid recipients who are citizens, but several constituents called him a liar. One veteran walked out mid-answer, saying his VA care had worsened since Trump took office. Trump’s signature legislation, signed into law last month, will also result in roughly 10 million people losing their health insurance, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates.
One constituent asked LaMalfa to apologize if he was not willing to resign over his support for the president’s tariffs, which farmers from the lawmaker’s district said were harmful. “I’m not gonna do either,” LaMalfa responded. “Do you actually want to talk about something productive?”
The Republican congressman was also confronted over Trump’s refusal to release the so-called Epstein files and over his own support for the president even after the January 6 insurrection. LaMalfa was cursed at, with one attendee yelling out “f**k you” and another calling him an “a**hole.”
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The tense reception comes days after Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., faced similar blowback, with one voter accusing him of supporting a “fascist machine.” Elsewhere in the country, pointed exchanges have gone viral, producing soundbites that Democrats have seized on.
On the hot-button issue of redistricting, LaMalfa warned against partisan gerrymandering in both Texas and California, saying such efforts erode trust in the political process, perhaps because a new map supported by his state’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, could reportedly target LaMalfa’s seat.
