BLACKSTONE, Va. — Republican U.S. Rep. David Brat, who rode a wave of voter anger to a historic political upset nearly three years ago, was on the receiving end of constituent angst about the Trump administration as he held a town hall in his district Tuesday.
Protesters and supporters crowded a restaurant conference room in Blackstone where Brat took questions for about hour. He was loudly heckled and booed when he defended President Donald Trump and his policies on health care and immigration, with the occasional cheer thrown in by his supporters by Brat’s support of gun rights and fewer regulations.
The former economics professor said he enjoyed the feisty give and take.
“People are very nervous and anxious after the Trump win. So my goal tonight is to help allay some of those anxieties,” said Brat, who defeated then House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a 2014 GOP primary.
Brat’s town hall was among several protests lobbed at GOP members of Congress returning home this week on break to their districts around the U.S. Some Republican lawmakers in Virginia are opting against holding public town halls, instead organizing conference calls or meeting privately.
At the town halls, protesters are probing their lawmakers to see if they will veer from some of Trump’s more controversial decisions, and if they will promise coverage for those currently served by the Affordable Care Act.
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Jim Adams, a retiree from Powhatan, spoke to Brat before the town hall and expressed concern that Republicans would take away health insurance for the poor. He said a family friend recently died because he could not afford health insurance.
“As a Christian, I believe we have to care for those who don’t have our resources,” Adams said.
Brat said that Republicans are still working on what a replacement of the Affordable Care Act will look like, but said current proposals being considered will cover those with preexisting conditions and include a two-year “transition period” so that no one suddenly loses current coverage.
Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday to address the town halls.
“The so-called angry crowds in home districts of some Republicans are actually, in numerous cases, planned out by liberal activists. Sad!” he tweeted.
Many protestors at Brat’s rally said they had no such affiliation.
Sanjay Rajput, an engineer from Midlothian, said he came by himself to the town hall because he was concerned about Trump’s agenda, particularly on immigration. Rajput said he wanted Brat to know that moderates and liberals in his district were paying attention.
“I don’t feel a certain point of view is being well represented,” Rajput said.
Sharon Ellis, a Brat supporter, said the protesters’ anger was misdirected at Brat, who liberal groups have criticized for not scheduling a town hall sooner.
“It seems like they are dogpiling a good man,” Ellis said.
U.S. Rep. Scott Taylor also held a town hall Tuesday in Yorktown. Taylor fielded questions that ranged from Russian hacking to protecting the nearby Chesapeake Bay. It was his second of three town halls being held this week. Taylor did not begrudge any fellow Republicans who declined to host town halls, saying they can be a legitimate security concern. But Taylor said it’s important to give people a “seat at the table.”
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