Republicans are trying to break through the heckling and jeers that have become commonplace at town halls as they sell the merits of President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” law.
Rep. Mike Flood (R-NE), who represents a comfortably red district, became the latest lawmaker to face shouts and angry chants Monday as Republicans spend the August recess promoting the tax cuts that Trump signed into law last month.
Republicans are downplaying the spectacle, a repeat of disruptions from earlier in the year, as choreographed outrage from Democrats. But the interruptions are nonetheless generating headlines they would rather avoid as the party seeks to move past criticism of the bill’s Medicaid reforms and capitalize on its more popular provisions.
“Candidly, I think it actually helps our team when people act in such a childish manner,” Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R-FL) said, likening the boos directed at Flood to the sound “when you leave the refrigerator open too long.”
“You got to wonder how competent or sane a person is to do that,” Haridopolos added.
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) said Flood’s rowdy town hall was evidence of Democrats being “organized to actually act out” and that each member should consider on a case-by-case basis if and how to interact with constituents face-to-face.
“I do coffees, but when I do them, I make it very clear: No. 1, it’s going to be organized, and No. 2, if you want to shut the coffee down quick, just act out, and we’ll just shut it down for everybody else,” Rounds said. “If you want to ask straightforward questions or hard questions, that’s fine. But we’re going to act like adults.”
The quandary facing Republicans comes as GOP leadership is pushing lawmakers to more proactively counter what they say are lies from Democrats about the law and instead emphasize provisions including its money for border security and new tax breaks for working-class voters.
As the bill was crafted, Republicans backed away from the biggest Medicaid reductions under discussion, but its new work requirements and provisions shifting the cost burden to states have kept the issue alive for Democrats into 2026.
House GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-MI) on Wednesday began her “One Big Beautiful Tour” at a manufacturing facility in Rep. Tom Kean’s (R-NJ) district to show how the law “will make lives better.” The format still allows for local media coverage but cuts down on the chances of the sort of confrontation that Flood’s open forum invited.
“Now that we passed it, it would be easy to feel like our work is done, but that’s not the case,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said of the law last week, prior to senators embarking on Congress’s roughly one-month break. “Communicating about this bill should be a priority when we’re in Washington, but especially when we’re in cities and towns across America.”
Many Republicans are playing catch-up after weeks of Democrats pummeling the law, criticism that Democrats are betting will help influence pivotal midterm races that are beginning to take shape. The GOP’s House and Senate campaign arms have urged members to “hit the road” with public events to flip polling that shows the law’s approval is underwater with voters.
Still, that is proving easier said than done. Flood won his 2024 House race by 20 points, yet he faced a barrage of criticism. The heckling follows news-generating interruptions in a spate of districts this year, including at a May event hosted by Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), a battleground Republican.
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Haridopolos, a first-term Republican who occupies a safe seat along Florida’s east coast, plans to stick to tele-town halls to accommodate larger crowds and avoid rabble-rousers.
“Where else can you get 10,000 people together in one meeting, and where else can you actually ask a question and get an answer without all the hubbub associated with it?” Haridopolos said.