Rep. Dave Min’s first in-person town hall as a member of Congress drew more than 1,000 people to Newport Harbor High School on Thursday, March 20.
The gymnasium was packed, parking was scarce and a box for questions was overflowing.
Standing before constituents, Min addressed concerns over potential cuts to health care and Social Security, castigating the Trump administration‘s breakneck cost-cutting policies as the “most immoral agenda” he’s seen in his lifetime.
“We have heard from tens of thousands of you since the last telephone town hall — phone calls, emails, letters. Our phones are ringing off the hook,” Min said. “I feel the same anxiety, fear and anger that so many of you expressed to me.”
Across the country, town halls have become a reflection of the broader political climate — a place where frustration with Washington boils over. In Orange County, some lawmakers are embracing them, while others are steering clear.
Both parties have faced criticism from the public, Republicans for the Trump administration’s spending cuts and Democrats for not taking stronger action in response.
While Min’s town hall was largely supportive — he received standing ovations at the start and end, with frequent applause throughout — the Irvine Democrat still faced some tough questions.
One attendee pressed him on why he voted for the Laken Riley Act, a Republican-backed bill that expands immigration enforcement in response to the killing of a Georgia college student by an undocumented immigrant. Another questioned what Democrats were actually doing, saying it felt like they were “quietly sitting and doing nothing.”
Min defended his record, highlighting his role on the House Oversight Committee and his appointment to House Democrats’ litigation and rapid response task force, which he said is focused on pushing back against actions by the Trump administration and Elon Musk, whom President Donald Trump has tasked with overseeing reining in federal spending.
Ava Donaldson, a 22-year-old Orange Coast College student wanting to major in political science, said after the town hall that while she was impressed with most of Min’s answers, she feels the Democratic Party is doing “a lot of saying and not a lot of doing.”
Earlier in the week, Rep. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, held more intimate “community conversations” focused on potential health care cuts and veterans’ issues.
Rep. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano, who hosted Orange County’s first congressional town hall of the year on March 16, fielded tough questions from constituents on how to push back against Trump administration policies and the increasing influence of billionaire Elon Musk in federal operations.
These town halls and similar events show how much voters want to engage with their elected officials, said Jodi Balma, who teaches political science at Fullerton College.
“People are angry, people are scared. People are really wanting to connect with our government, and they are doing that,” said Balma. “They’re making phone calls. They are protesting in the streets, but they want to hear from their representatives, and they want to make sure their representatives are hearing from them.”
But not all lawmakers are participating.
Rep. Young Kim, the only Republican in Orange County’s House delegation, has not held a town hall this year, despite calls for direct engagement. Instead, she’s found herself in the crosshairs of organized rallies.
House Republican leaders have advised members to skip town halls after some in the party have faced hostility at events. At a recent town hall, Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Hesperia, was drowned out by boos and jeers mid-sentence when he started answering a question about what he would do to counter Musk.
“What’s hard to know is whether the unhappy voters at these town halls were disappointed Republicans or people who would have been angry at the Republican agenda anyway. But the leadership decided it wasn’t worth the risk,” said Dan Schnur, a former campaign consultant who teaches political messaging at UC Berkeley and USC.
On Tuesday, March 18, more than 200 protesters gathered outside Kim’s Anaheim Hills office, voicing concerns over potential Medicaid cuts. While Trump has promised no cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — and Kim has vowed not to support a budget that cuts those programs — Democrats argue that such cuts are unavoidable given the spending reductions proposed by Republicans.
Later in the week, about 20 residents met at the East Anaheim Community Center, just five minutes from Kim’s office, to share concerns over the plight of Social Security and Medicaid. An empty chair at the front of the room was marked with a sign: “Reserved for Young Kim.”
On Sunday, Rep. Ro Khanna, a progressive Democrat from the Bay Area, is expected to hold a town hall in Kim’s district, as well as in several other Republican-held districts in California. National Democrats recently launched “People’s Town Halls,” where Democrats visit competitive Republican districts to hold town hall events.
But Kim’s office defended her approach, emphasizing her presence in the district in other ways.
“Rep. Kim is everywhere in her community meeting with constituents over the district work period and is laser-focused on delivering results,” said her spokesperson, Callie Strock.
Strock also dismissed the protests as politically motivated.
“The fact that these events are only being held in competitive districts shows this is purely political grandstanding,” she said. “Rep. Kim’s constituents know that she is accessible and fighting on their behalf — they can see through political stunts peddled by far-left activist groups and out-of-town politicians desperate for the limelight.”
Schnur said the GOP’s strategy is based on risk management.
“A lot of the Republican members in contested districts are in a no-way situation. They’re essentially choosing whether to show up and get booed, on one hand, or get criticized for not showing up on the other,” Schnur said. “Right now, the criticism isn’t a helpful story, but it’s a less visible and less impactful one.”
Meanwhile, many Democrats see town halls as an opportunity to draw attention to the issues they believe will resonate with voters in 2026.
“One of the things we’re seeing at these events are the very real stories of how people are affected,” Balma said.
Correa, for instance, urged constituents at his health care discussion to share personal stories about how spending cuts impact their lives — accounts he can take back to Washington.
“Focus on the American citizen who is going to be feeling these cuts,” Correa told attendees. “The most effective advocacy messages are talking about our soldiers, the American citizens — these are the things I believe the average American voter is thinking about.”
Amy Stevens, a Mission Viejo resident and leader of the Indivisible coalition in Orange County — a progressive political advocacy group aimed at opposing policies they view as harmful, particularly those linked to the Trump administration — agreed that personal connections make the biggest impact.
“Finding a common ground … and building relationships” is hugely important, Stevens said at the Anaheim gathering.
Both Schnur and Balma said that it’s too early to understand the political consequences of the town halls and the protests over members not holding them. But what’s clear is that town halls will likely remain the front line of political discourse — places where democracy’s tensions are laid bare.
“These protests will continue as long as there are voters unhappy with what they’re getting out of Washington,” said Schnur. “So if the economy does begin to move forward, the most highly committed Democratic partisans will continue to protest and a relatively small number of others (will still protest, too). If the economy goes south, then the protests get bigger, and then they become a much bigger problem.”