LI congressional members Nick LaLota, Tom Suozzi host town halls this week as GOP across US faces livid audiences
Reps. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), left, and Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) have scheduled virtual town hall events this week. Credit: Newsday / William Perlman; Newsday / John Paraskevas
Long Island’s congressional delegation plans to host town halls in their districts beginning this week, a staple that has recently turned volatile for some GOP members across the country.
Rep. Nick LaLota's (R-Amityville) virtual town hall is 6 p.m. Wednesday and Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) will host his own virtual event Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Participants can call 855-962-1154 to listen and ask questions, or hear a livestream of it on Facebook.
Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) has also scheduled a virtual town hall for March 24, according to a spokesperson. Rep. Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) is the lone Long Island representative currently planning an in-person town hall in April, according to a spokesperson.
The town hall gatherings come as some Republicans from Texas to Kansas have returned to their districts in recent weeks to face angry constituents worried about proposed funding cuts to Medicaid, Social Security and other services, and the impact of billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, according to media reports.
On Tuesday, Politico reported Republican lawmakers have been urged to stop holding in-person town halls, according to a message in a closed-door meeting delivered by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Over the weekend, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) left an in-person town hall early as constituents questioned why veterans in the federal workforce had been fired, according to The Associated Press. A video on social media shows audience members booing as he leaves the room and a woman shouts, "We're going to vote you out!" Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) was booed at a town hall Saturday as he compared DOGE to cuts to the federal workforce done by President Bill Clinton, video showed.
LaLota, who faced criticism during last year's campaign for not holding in-person town halls, wrote in an email to constituents that more than 10,000 residents "can come together to have a real, productive dialogue" Wednesday night.
He listed his "stance on protecting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid" as one topic on the mind of Long Islanders that will be addressed. LaLota voted to approve a budget blueprint that seeks $880 billion in cuts that Democrats claim targets Medicaid. In a statement, LaLota said the resolution is "a critical step toward lowering taxes, cutting spending, and protecting vital programs like Social Security and Medicaid."
Shoshana Hershkowitz, founder of the activist group Suffolk Progressives, said in an interview with Newsday she believes the telephone town halls are "more scripted" and elected representatives can make time to host both styles.
Suffolk Progressives and several other groups held a Presidents Day protest at LaLota’s Hauppauge office calling for an in-person town hall.
"If you’re not willing to face the public, you shouldn’t be in public service," Hershkowitz said.
Mary O'Hara, a spokesperson for LaLota, said in a statement that the lawmaker "remains committed to open and honest dialogue, taking questions from Democrats, Republicans, and Independents at meetings where he does not prescreen the audience or questions, requires no payment, and imposes no party affiliation restrictions."
Hank Sheinkopf, a political consultant, said there’s "reasonable paranoia" for elected officials facing constituents at public town halls, so the "alternative is to have telephone town halls."
He said telephone town halls are not necessarily a new concept.
Sheinkopf said the potential for Medicaid cuts, as an example, can cause an "outcry."
"The question is, 'Is there payback?' It's not likely they'll be a payback to congressmen in Suffolk County," he said, adding these members are safe from any serious challenge.
Congressional Republican lawmakers faced a similar situation in 2017 during President Donald Trump’s first term in office. The Associated Press had reported how elected officials were "facing (or trying to avoid) angry crowds in their districts," with voters largely concerned about losing health insurance if the Affordable Care Act was repealed.
Democrats faced similar blowback in 2009 from the now-defunct Tea Party movement based on health care proposals, The Associated Press reported.
While not a traditional town hall, Suozzi and Gillen hosted an in-person budget briefing on Saturday at Hofstra University filled with several hundred supporters to outline the potential impact of the recently approved GOP House budget blueprint.
Toward the end, an audience member shouted whether they would take questions, when Suozzi mentioned he would be hosting a virtual town hall to do so.
"Why not in person?" the audience member yelled back, eliciting some groans from others in the crowd.
Afterward, Suozzi said in an interview that during the pandemic he switched to telephone town halls and found it reaches more people.
"When I did a telephone town hall during COVID, I had 20,000 people," he said. "So I want to try to get as much information out as possible."
Gillen said in an interview Saturday the town halls are "a good way to find out about things that were happening that I didn’t know about."
She added: "Right now, there’s a lot of fear out there about what these cuts and firings are going to do and what the budget is going to look like."
Long Island’s congressional delegation plans to host town halls in their districts beginning this week, a staple that has recently turned volatile for some GOP members across the country.
Rep. Nick LaLota's (R-Amityville) virtual town hall is 6 p.m. Wednesday and Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) will host his own virtual event Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Participants can call 855-962-1154 to listen and ask questions, or hear a livestream of it on Facebook.
Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) has also scheduled a virtual town hall for March 24, according to a spokesperson. Rep. Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) is the lone Long Island representative currently planning an in-person town hall in April, according to a spokesperson.
The town hall gatherings come as some Republicans from Texas to Kansas have returned to their districts in recent weeks to face angry constituents worried about proposed funding cuts to Medicaid, Social Security and other services, and the impact of billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, according to media reports.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- Long Island's congressional delegation is hosting virtual and in-person town halls amid national tensions over proposed funding cuts to social services, with some GOP members facing backlash from constituents.
- Virtual town halls are being favored by Nick LaLota and Tom Suozzi to reach more constituents, while Laura Gillen is planning an in-person gathering.
- The shift to virtual town halls is partly due to concerns about facing angry crowds, a situation reminiscent of past political climates, with some constituents and activists advocating for more direct, in-person engagement.
On Tuesday, Politico reported Republican lawmakers have been urged to stop holding in-person town halls, according to a message in a closed-door meeting delivered by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Over the weekend, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) left an in-person town hall early as constituents questioned why veterans in the federal workforce had been fired, according to The Associated Press. A video on social media shows audience members booing as he leaves the room and a woman shouts, "We're going to vote you out!" Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) was booed at a town hall Saturday as he compared DOGE to cuts to the federal workforce done by President Bill Clinton, video showed.
LaLota, who faced criticism during last year's campaign for not holding in-person town halls, wrote in an email to constituents that more than 10,000 residents "can come together to have a real, productive dialogue" Wednesday night.
He listed his "stance on protecting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid" as one topic on the mind of Long Islanders that will be addressed. LaLota voted to approve a budget blueprint that seeks $880 billion in cuts that Democrats claim targets Medicaid. In a statement, LaLota said the resolution is "a critical step toward lowering taxes, cutting spending, and protecting vital programs like Social Security and Medicaid."
Shoshana Hershkowitz, founder of the activist group Suffolk Progressives, said in an interview with Newsday she believes the telephone town halls are "more scripted" and elected representatives can make time to host both styles.
Suffolk Progressives and several other groups held a Presidents Day protest at LaLota’s Hauppauge office calling for an in-person town hall.
"If you’re not willing to face the public, you shouldn’t be in public service," Hershkowitz said.
Mary O'Hara, a spokesperson for LaLota, said in a statement that the lawmaker "remains committed to open and honest dialogue, taking questions from Democrats, Republicans, and Independents at meetings where he does not prescreen the audience or questions, requires no payment, and imposes no party affiliation restrictions."
Hank Sheinkopf, a political consultant, said there’s "reasonable paranoia" for elected officials facing constituents at public town halls, so the "alternative is to have telephone town halls."
He said telephone town halls are not necessarily a new concept.
Sheinkopf said the potential for Medicaid cuts, as an example, can cause an "outcry."
"The question is, 'Is there payback?' It's not likely they'll be a payback to congressmen in Suffolk County," he said, adding these members are safe from any serious challenge.
Congressional Republican lawmakers faced a similar situation in 2017 during President Donald Trump’s first term in office. The Associated Press had reported how elected officials were "facing (or trying to avoid) angry crowds in their districts," with voters largely concerned about losing health insurance if the Affordable Care Act was repealed.
Democrats faced similar blowback in 2009 from the now-defunct Tea Party movement based on health care proposals, The Associated Press reported.
While not a traditional town hall, Suozzi and Gillen hosted an in-person budget briefing on Saturday at Hofstra University filled with several hundred supporters to outline the potential impact of the recently approved GOP House budget blueprint.
Toward the end, an audience member shouted whether they would take questions, when Suozzi mentioned he would be hosting a virtual town hall to do so.
"Why not in person?" the audience member yelled back, eliciting some groans from others in the crowd.
Afterward, Suozzi said in an interview that during the pandemic he switched to telephone town halls and found it reaches more people.
"When I did a telephone town hall during COVID, I had 20,000 people," he said. "So I want to try to get as much information out as possible."
Gillen said in an interview Saturday the town halls are "a good way to find out about things that were happening that I didn’t know about."
She added: "Right now, there’s a lot of fear out there about what these cuts and firings are going to do and what the budget is going to look like."
Joe Werkmeister covers the towns of Southampton, East Hampton and Shelter Island. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.
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