Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert answered questions from constituents over the phone Wednesday night, while many of her Republican colleagues are shying away from holding town halls.
Boebert, who represents Colorado's 4th Congressional District, took 16 questions over the course of about an hour. A few of them focused on how she is advancing President Donald Trump's agenda, particularly around deportations and working to end federal support for so-called sanctuary cities.
The bulk of the questions, though, were from people worried about what the Trump administration and the Republican majority in Congress are doing and plan to do, especially when it comes to cutting the federal government.
Concerns included efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, proposed cuts to Social Security and Medicaid funding, impacts of tariffs on the agriculture industry, and workforce reductions at the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Forest Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Boebert staunchly defended all of the administration鈥檚 actions and pledged to do what she can in Congress to advance Trump鈥檚 agenda.
鈥淚 would love to be even more aggressive in our legislative calendar, but we are working to codify what President Trump is doing,鈥� Boebert said.
She also defended the president鈥檚 appointment of Elon Musk to run the Department of Government Efficiency initiative, but also pledged to hold Musk accountable if necessary.
鈥淚f any wrongdoing occurs, I will absolutely work to hold anyone accountable in my role as a member of the House Oversight Committee.鈥�
Overall, the conference-call style event was tightly managed. A few constituents were able to ask their questions live, but most had to submit them in advance to have them read by a moderator.
House Republicans have advised their members not to hold in-person town halls these days because of backlash.
Colorado Republicans have taken that advice. Like Boebert, Reps. Jeff Crank and Jeff Hurd have only held events over the phone recently. Rep. Gabe Evans has yet to schedule any.
Meanwhile, Democrats have been eager to talk to voters and point out Republicans鈥� reluctance.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez held two Colorado rallies last week. One of them drew more than 10,000 people to Greeley, in the heart of Evans鈥� district, one of the most competitive House seats in the country.
