Screenshot via X.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) faced an angry crowd at a town hall this past weekend in Hampton, IA — as constituents complained about recent actions by President Donald Trump and DOGE head Elon Musk and demanded their senator do more to oppose them.
Trump and Musk’s efforts with DOGE have been highly controversial, as an email demanding all federal workers justify their continued employment, massive layoffs, budget cuts, shuttering of agencies and programs, and Musk’s conflicts of interest have all raised eyebrows.
Multiple lawsuits have already been filed challenging the creation of DOGE, its activities, access to sensitive government data and files, and Musk’s role. The Supreme Court has already smacked down a DOGE-led effort to cut off vast swaths of foreign aid funding, ruling that about $2 billion for contracted work that had already been completed could not be withheld. The ambiguity of Musk’s specific job title and how much power he has is another major legal issue; Trump’s comment in his speech to a joint session of Congress earlier this month that DOGE is “headed by Elon Musk” has already been cited in several of the pending court cases as contradicting the denials by Trump administration attorneys.
The “vibe” for Grassley’s town hall was “overwhelmingly in opposition” to DOGE’s budget cuts and layoffs, despite taking place in an county “where Republicans outnumber Democrats 3-to-1,” according to a report by Iowa Starting Line. Attendees were mad at not just Musk and Trump, but also frustrated with Grassley for not doing more to fight these changes.
Grassley, a 91-year-old who was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1980 and began his political career when he was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives in 1958, is the oldest sitting U.S. Senator and the longest-serving Republican in congressional history. Some of the people at the town hall said it was time for him to retire. Iowa’s senior senator was last re-elected in 2022 and would be up for election again in 2028, if he chooses to run again. Grassley would be 95 years old on Election Day 2028.
Iowa Starting Line posted a thread of video clips from the town hall, showing Grassley repeatedly being berated by Iowans on these issues and often getting loud and angry responses from the crowd for his answers.
“My question to you is, why do you believe that President Trump is above the law?” asked one man, raising his voice as he continued. “And I’ll just reinforce what other people have been saying here — why have you not spoken out for it?”
The audience broke out into cheers and applause at this point, and the man was drowned out for several moments despite having the microphone.
“Do your job!” he said. “We have trusted you with our votes. We have sent you to Congress for decades. We expect you to follow through with what we Iowans really want our government to do, and not to be — have a federal government that is being dismantled by President Trump and Elon Musk. Please, stand up for what’s right and do your jobs.”
After more applause from the crowd, Grassley replied that the man’s comments gave him a “wonderful opportunity” to explain how every time he leaves his office to go to the Senate floor, there are several dozen reporters waiting for him. The reporters are “there to ask me questions, all the time, and I take time to answer their questions, and I never see anything in print that I ever say to them,” he continued. “So I have to assume that you don’t get a chance, unless you do a vast amount of reading, that you’d ever see anything that I say to the journalists in Washington, D.C.” Grassley said that he put information on his website with updates about what he had said and what he had been doing to keep Iowans updated.
Such explanations did not satisfy the crowd, as other attendees asked questions and urged Grassley to provide oversight and take other actions to change or stop what Trump and Musk were doing, often mentioning Grassley’s decades in Washington.
Providing oversight is “your job, obviously, which you’ve done for decades,” said another man. “You know it’s your job, but we are depending on you and the others to help save democracy.”
Grassley replied that he had “investigative staff” working on “33 investigations.” When he said that he couldn’t name all 33, someone in the audience called out “Give us one!” Grassley mentioned waste in one program but was met with scattered groans from the crowd.
According to Iowa Starting Line reporter Amie Rivers, the scene inside the town hall was not the only anger that was expressed by locals. An overflow room on a lower floor broke out into boos after the dozens gathered there were informed that there was not room for them in the town hall upstairs, they would not be allowed to enter, and Grassley was not going to stop in that room to meet with them separately.
Rivers reported on several quotes from the more than a dozen people who spoke in the “impromptu empty chair town hall” organized by the county supervisor and a local union chief. “At one time, he was a reasonable conservative,” said one man who said he had voted for Grassley in the past. “I’m trying to figure out why he is who he is now.” Others added:
“If Grassley, after all his years of service, thinks all he can do with all the BS that Trump is doing is complain, I think it’s time for him to retire,” one woman said.
“He needs to have a backbone,” another man said. “Quit being a coward to Trump.”
“What changed, Chuck?” asked another woman. “Do your job and vote for what the people want.”
Vince Rottinghaus of Charles City, a farmer and business owner, said this month he was getting ready to reforest a section of land after a storm came through and took down several trees. But now, because Musk laid off the USDA worker who was advising him on the project, Rottinghaus can’t do that.
And it’s not just the storm project: He can’t get a hold of anybody at his Social Security office now, either.
“Everything that they’ve disrupted here affects people’s daily lives,” he told Starting Line.
Rottinghaus said he’s voted for Grassley since his own mother helped Grassley get elected to the Iowa House. No longer.
“I think we’ve lost our compass here,” he said. “This deal now is just chaos.”
Additional noteworthy clips collected by Iowa Starting Line are below.
“The checks and balances of government are going to continue to work,” said Grassley, as several people called out “it’s not working!” The elimination of the Department of Education and changes and staff cuts within the Social Security administration drew considerable ire.
It wasn’t all negative for Grassley; he did get repeated thanks for being willing to hold a town hall and show up to face constituents, according to Iowa Starting Line.
When the town hall was over, Grassley was greeted by protesters waving signs and shouting “Stand up to Trump! Shame!” as he walked to his car.
Watch above via Iowa Starting Line on X.
The post ‘Quit Being a Coward!’ Chuck Grassley Gets an Earful About Trump and Musk at Heated Iowa Town Hall first appeared on Mediaite.
