As Republicans face voters angry over DOGE cuts, Alabama’s GOP lawmakers go silent on town halls

As the March 22 town hall in Athens approaches, Sean Phillips hopes his congressman will show up to listen to constituents' concerns.

If Republican U.S. Rep. Dale Strong doesn’t make it, Phillips is prepared to leave an empty chair in his place.

“We want to make this as serious as possible in a healthy manner that is beneficial to the community itself,” Phillips, the town hall’s organizer, said.

“I have friends who are federal employees, and I have never seen them so down, afraid and scared in their life. We need to hear from our leaders who protect us. We’re not hearing from them.”

Strong’s office has not responded to multiple requests for comment by AL.com.

Also not commenting about the fate of town halls heading into next week’s congressional recess are the other Republicans in Alabama’s congressional delegation: Reps. Barry Moore of Enterprise, Robert Aderholt of Haleyville, Gary Palmer of Hoover, and Mike Rogers of Saks.

Strong’s staff told WHNT-TV last week that the congressman prioritizes making himself accessible to constituents through roundtables, mobile office hours, and telephone town halls.

Silence

The silence comes after House Speaker Mike Johnson encouraged Republican lawmakers recently to skip town halls. He has criticized them as being filled with protesters decrying the Trump Administration’s actions.

The town halls that have occurred have been filled with irate attendees.

In North Carolina on Thursday, Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards was booed and shouted down for over an hour during a town hall attended by over 300 people.

The lack of an in-person session with Strong appears to be especially acute in North Alabama. Alabama’s 5th congressional district, which Strong has represented since 2023, trails only a handful of congressional districts in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia for having the most federal government workers.

With the aggressive action taken by the Trump Administration to downsize the federal workforce, worried North Alabama residents are wanting answers. Critics say Strong has been a no-show, and his office isn’t responding to their inquiries.

“He’s not even making a statement to allay people’s fears,” said Susan Griffin, a representative with Indivisible in the 5th Congressional District that has 28,403 federal government workers, or 7.6% of the district’s entire workforce.

The number of federal workers within the district that includes Huntsville and Madison is far beyond the aggregate number and percentages of federal workers employed in Alabama’s other congressional districts.

“If you think about it, Huntsville is a welfare town and we wouldn’t have this fabulous standard of living if we didn’t have federal dollars flowing in,” Griffin said. “It’s just nuts. And as far as I can tell, he’s just silent.”

Reactions

(l-r) Rep. Terri Sewell, Rep. Shomari Figures, Rep. Katie BrittWill McLelland | WMcLelland@al.com; AL.com; AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Of Alabama’s GOP members of Congress, only U.S. Sen. Katie Britt is commenting about town halls.

Her office, in a statement, said the Senate has been in session for nine straight weeks since Jan. 3, and that Britt has met with Alabamians in Washington, D.C., making it “one of her top priorities.”

Britt has also held five events called “Coffee with Katie” open to any Alabamian who is in Washington, D.C.

“At these events, she takes questions from the crowd, provides a lengthy update to her work, and then visits individually with attendees,” the statement from Britt’s office says.

It remains unclear whether the senator will host any events physically in Alabama.

“There is nothing more important to Senator Britt than making sure Alabamians are heard as she continues to fight for Alabama’s people, priorities, and values,” the statement reads.

Alabama’s two Democratic members of Congress are hosting town hall events, or other in-person activities. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile, has a town hall meeting scheduled Monday at Bishop State Community College in Mobile.

“There is an old saying that if you can’t take the heat, then get out of the kitchen,” Figures said. “If Republicans – or any elected official – can’t answer questions from their constituents, then they shouldn’t be in office.”

U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, said her constituents are frightened over the handling of cuts to the federal government in Washington, D.C., led by Trump and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

“They see this administration coming after their health care, Social Security and so many other vital programs,” she said. “Now more than ever, we as members of Congress need to listen to their concerns, bring them back to Washington, and act accordingly.”

Rollicking past events

The last time voters were irate at town hall meetings was during the Trump-era protests of 2017 and 2018, when Republicans tried and failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.

Bradley Byrne, president & CEO of the Mobile Chamber, was a congressman in the 1st congressional district at the time. His town halls were filled with crowded rooms and heated exchanges, with him often mediating the raucousness.

“The town halls across the country were as controversial as they were now,” said Byrne, a former Republican member of the U.S. House until 2021. “I continued to do them because I felt they were important.”

Byrne was so prolific in holding them, that CBS “This Morning” held a segment chronicling Byrne’s busy town hall schedule – something unheard of after Johnson’s request.

“While there were some controversies and some people who spoke out (during the town hall meetings), I still thought they were worth doing,” Byrne said. “So, I did them. I think it was doing as many as anyone in the House. And If I was in Congress, I’d still do them today.”

Alabama lawmakers have been somewhat prolific with town halls, hosting 480 from 2013-2023, according to research by Columbia University student Daniel Markovits. That ranks Alabama 21st among states, though the figures are neither broken down per capita nor analyzed by congressional district.

Alabama’s overall population is 26th in the nation.

Markovits said the number of town halls in Alabama have dropped off in recent years.

Risky politics

Wisconsin Supreme Court — Carla Raupp holds a sign during a town hall meeting at the George Culver Community Library Thursday, March 6, 2025, in Sauk City, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)AP

Casey Burgat, a professor at the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., said Republicans are taking on political risk with a razor-thin House majority by not meeting with constituents.

“The Republican Party is making the calculation that they don’t need to do this and that more harm can come from these than good,” said Burgat. “Democrats are absolutely right to question this in saying that if you believe in (the Trump cuts), what are you trying to hide and why are you not bragging about this?”

There may be little political incentive for Strong or any Alabama member of Congress to host a town hall meeting. According to early 2026 projections by Cook Political Report, all seven Alabama congressional districts are considered either a Safe Republican or a Safe Democratic seat, meaning they are likely uncompetitive during the midterm elections.

Strong has easily won his past two congressional elections.

However, Burgat said that having the entire Republican House caucus avoid town halls could be problematic in 2026. It also gives Democrats, who have struggled to find a message in the early months of the Trump administration, an issue to pounce on.

Democrats are planning a blitz of town hall meetings nationwide. They are branding them “People’s Town Halls” and are planning to target nine House Republicans in battleground districts, according to The New York Times.

“I’ve never seen this as especially being a party-wide, systematic decision,” Burgat said about the lack of Republican town halls. “Democrats are loving that fact that they are doing this. I’m sure they will capitalize the same way Republicans, including Fox News, counted down the days between (former President Joe) Biden’s press conferences and making the same argument – What is he afraid of? Why is he not willing to stand up to questioning?”

Phillips just wants some sort of feedback from Strong’s office, and not to be ignored.

“If he shows he truly wants to hear from the community, he will come,” Phillips said. “Or he will provide a statement as to why he can’t. But I do not want silence. I’ve been pushed into action because of the silence.”