DOGE cuts, Medicaid fears spark protests at GOP lawmaker offices across US
Some House Republicans have felt heat back home this past week after progressive groups urged Americans to protest the GOP’s handling of government spending.
At least six lawmakers saw protests at their district offices as they spent time with constituents during last week’s recess to mark President’s Day. Several others were confronted during town hall events held during the same period.
The demonstrations largely centered on Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aims to slash $2 trillion in federal spending.
‘They have control of all of our personal information, and I don’t know that anyone except them knows what they’re going to be doing with it,’ a protester outside the office of Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., said in a video captured by AZ Central. ‘I think it’s a terrible breach of security for everyone in this country.’
A photo compilation by the Desert Sun showed dozens of people protesting at the office of Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., with signs like, ‘You work for us, not Musk.’
People were also concerned about potential cuts to Medicaid and other federal programs as GOP lawmakers work to enact President Donald Trump’s agenda via the budget reconciliation process.
Lawmakers are looking to cut billions in federal spending to offset the cost of extending Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, as well as border security and national defense priorities.
Constituents outside the office of Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., last week pleaded with him to reject Medicaid cuts, according to local outlet WGAL. ‘I hope he doesn’t touch Medicaid. I hope he does not defund it or try to cut it or anything like that,’ one demonstrator told the outlet.
Perry told the outlet in response to the protest, ‘Congressman Perry supports the right to protest. While Congress has yet to see a detailed plan to get our Country back on the path to fiscal solvency, Congressman Perry, as always, will keep the concerns and views of the 10th District at the forefront as he determines his vote on their behalf.’
Other Republicans who saw protests at their district offices last week included Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., and House Administration Committee Chair Bryan Steil, R-Wis.
Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., was among the Republican lawmakers who faced critics that jeered him at a town hall last week.
It comes after progressive group Indivisible put out a memo encouraging activists to use last week’s recess to protest House lawmakers at their home offices amid the left’s backlash against Musk’s work.
‘Recess is when Members of Congress go back home to host town halls, meet with constituents, and try to paint themselves as responsive to the people who elected them. It is also when MoCs think they can avoid public scrutiny — especially Republicans who want to dodge tough questions about their complicity in Trump and Musk’s coup,’ the group’s site said.
Meanwhile, left-wing group Working Families Power and Opportunity Wisconsin organized the demonstration outside of Steil’s office, an online event notice showed.