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Democrat lawmakers are feeling pressure from the left flank of their party at town hall meetings across the country, with a series of outbursts from attendees urging them to take a more radical left-wing approach in Congress.
The series of shouting matches comes shortly after Democrats pointed to negative audiences at town halls for Republicans.
On Wednesday, for example, attendees relentlessly screamed at Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., for his stance on Israel. One attendee charged the stage, calling the lawmaker “soulless,” and had to be restrained. The event was cut short.
Democrat lawmakers have also faced frustration from their base in the wake of the recent decision by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to support the Republican-backed stopgap budget bill to fund the government until the end of the fiscal year.
That decision, coupled with Democrat lawmakers’ inability to counter President Donald Trump’s cuts to the federal bureaucracy, has led to flare-ups at a number of Democrats’ town halls.
Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., faced the almost unintelligible wrath of a woman who screamed that he was “too calm” in the face of “DOGE bulls–t,” referring to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency purges of federal agencies.
Rep. Gil Cisneros, D-Calif., likewise faced hostile questions from attendees who view him as impotent in the face of Trump’s restructuring of government.
“You seem like such an affable, kind, nice man,” one attendee said. “But I am so angry. I am so scared. I feel our democracy is in danger … . I wish you’d be angry.”
These town hall flare-ups show a growing rift in the Democratic Party, with lawmakers divided over whether to continue supporting Schumer or his House counterpart, Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., neither of whom have been able to impede Trump’s agenda on any significant front.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has been leading the charge against Schumer and the old guard of the Democratic Party.
At a rally in Nevada alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Ocasio-Cortez said, “We need a Democratic Party that fights harder for us,” adding: “I want you to look at every level of office around and support brawlers who fight, because those are the ones who can actually win against Republicans.”
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who along with Schumer was among the handful of Democrat senators to vote for the continuing resolution, did not mince words on X in response to Ocasio-Cortez.
“Fight ‘harder’—a stunt that would have harmed millions and plunged us into chaos. We kept our government open. Deal with it,” he wrote.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, is another young member of Congress cautiously criticizing Democrat leadership.
Asked on CNN this week if she would support Ocasio-Cortez running for the fifth-term Schumer’s Senate seat in 2028, she did not rule it out.
“I think Senate Democrats have to sit down and take a look and decide whether or not Chuck Schumer is the one to lead in this moment,” she said.
Crockett also has not stood firmly with House leadership either.
Asked on PBS to rate Jeffries’ performance as minority leader, she responded, “That’s for the people to decide,” and repeatedly attempted to avoid direct questions of her opinion on Jeffries.
