Rep. Victoria Spartz is one of the few House Republicans to have held in-person town halls since President Donald Trump was inaugurated. She was also one of the few Republicans in the room at either of the two in-person events she held this weekend with hundreds of angry and combative constituents.
Spartz represents a safe Republican district where she’s been reelected three times and is not facing any real threats to her seat. But the anger from her constituents was palpable. The boos were constant,the questions were pointed and, at times, Spartz could barely get an answer out without being drowned out by the crowd. But the audience wasn’t made up of Democratic organizers from outside the counties she represents – for someone to attend, they had to provide their address to verify they’re a constituent of hers.
Of the 12 attendees NOTUS spoke to, only one identified as a Republican. That there was an overwhelming number of Democrats and a sparse number of GOP voters in attendance says muchabout the politics of the moment, as Trump, with congressional Republicans, transforms Washington and the country.
“Unfortunately, there is no bipartisanship and no ability and desire to govern anymore in Washington, D.C.,” Spartz repeated several times on Saturday. “We have to find the common ground. So that is what’s happening right now.”
Trending
Those who showed up to the weekend events weren’t interested in talking about coming together. They peppered Spartz with questions about Elon Musk and DOGE, the Republican budget bill, and what that legislation will mean for programs like Medicaid and Social Security.
Randall McCallister was one of the lone Republicans in the audience who asked Spartz a question about protecting the middle class. He said he believed the audience was made up mostly of Democrats because Republicans are happy with what’s happening in Washington..
“She won greatly in the November election,” he told NOTUS. “I feel like no matter what party you’re from, we really shouldn’t have all this hatred. Because we’re not gonna agree with everything, but it’s good to have real conversations.”
Spartz is unique in her own right. She has a tough relationship with leadership on Capitol Hill and was a headache for Speaker Mike Johnson when she opposed the framework for a massive budget bill key to Trump’s agenda, ultimately flipping her vote after pressure from Trump himself.
The Indiana Republican is a fiscal conservative who wanted to see more federal cuts than just the ones included in the framework, which would include $2 trillion in entitlement spending cuts and allow for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts. Though she’s also pledged repeatedly she wouldn’t support cuts to Social Security. (The legislation also would raise the debt limit by $4 trillion and provide $300 billion in border and defense spending.)
“I do what I can as the one person, but we have a tight majority…even challenging my own party, which is not that easy, even leadership in my own party,” she told the audience. “Challenge your own speaker, that is not an easy thing to do.”
She’s repeatedly made headlines in Washington for confusing reporters – and her Republican colleagues – for changing her mind on major issues, sometimes within the same day that a major vote is taking place.
It’s notable that Spartz held two in-person town halls just weeks after National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson told House Republicans to avoid in-person town halls because of protesters and negative press. Despite all the rowdiness of the crowds at the two-hour long town halls, Spartz never backed down from questioning.
Asked about her votes against U.S. aid to Ukraine, her birth country, Spartz said, “I’m not sending blank checks to corrupt governments.”
The crowd booed her.
Spartz was also asked repeatedly, at both town halls, about the deportations of Mahmoud Khalil and other students in the country legally on student visas.
“I am a legal immigrant myself, and I support legal immigration,” she told the audience.
When asked specifically about these cases and legal immigration, she told her constituents to speak to her office if they know of any specific examples of legal immigrants being deported in her Indiana district, which only further agitated the attendees.
“If you have examples, you can share them with me,” she said, to more boos still.
One constituent, Chelsea McDonnel, felt the entire town hall was Spartz dodging questions from voters. (McDonnel is not a Spartz supporter).
“As much as I respect that she came out today, I also really hate that she came here with a plan not to answer questions and play the same old game of, ‘Oh, we’re doing everything that we can, but we have nothing to show for it,” McDonnel said.
Perhaps the most telling moment came when Spartz was asked whether she’d be willing to challenge the president.
“He is very helpful to me,” she replied.
The audience started booing her and chanted: “Do your job.”
—
Daniella Diaz is a reporter at NOTUS.
Author
