Iowa Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson faced a deluge of boos and shouts at two town halls over President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and policy bill
US Rep. Ashley Hinson staves off jeers and boos at Iowa town hall
US Rep. Ashely Hinson held a town hall at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where she staunchly defended President Trump’s tax bill.
- U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson held two town halls in Elkader and Decorah Iowa May 28. The crowd erupted with anger over her support for the GOP tax bill.
- Despite the heckling, Hinson said she plans to continue holding town halls and visits with Iowans to answer voters’ questions.
ELKADER, Iowa – Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson didn’t falter in her support for President Donald Trump as she faced spurts of jeers and heckling over Congress’ mega tax policy bill at two eastern Iowa town halls.
“What about due process!” an audience member yelled. “What’s the point if you’re going to talk the whole time!” another attendee said.
Hinson’s two fiery town halls in Elkader and Decorah on Wednesday, May 28, were the first large in-person public forums she’s held since U.S. House Republicans went home for a week-long recess after passing Trump’s comprehensive budget and policy bill overnight May 22.
“I believe the president is fighting for you, and I’m fighting alongside him,” she said in her opening comments. “I do think the president was saved that day in Butler, Pennsylvania, for a reason.”
Although there were moments of applause for the Iowa Republican, the audience erupted in jeers and called Hinson a “liar” and booed her during the separate hour-long events she held with more than 300 attendees.
The bill, which now heads to the U.S. Senate, would make Trump’s expiring 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent and make cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, a program that provides food assistance to 42 million Americans. The bill would also eliminate taxes on workers’ tips and overtime, which was one of Trump’s campaign promises.
Trump’s policy and tax bill drew sharp criticism from Democrats for its proposed cuts to social security programs like Medicaid and SNAP.
Hinson responded to the heckling in Elkader and said she plans to continue holding town halls and visits with Iowans to answer voters’ questions.
“I’ll give an update and then I’ll take your questions. That’s why I’m here today, that’s why I’ve done 44 in-person town halls,” Hinson said amid jeers from the audience. “So just be patient, and I’ll be answering your questions shortly.”
Hinson addressed the audiences in the Elkader Opera House and on Luther College’s campus in Decorah, highlighting her work in Congress, including with the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) spearheaded by Tesla CEO and billionaire Elon Musk.
Iowans frustrated with the Trump administration’s agenda and Congress have loudly expressed their disapproval at other federal lawmakers’ town halls this year. Hinson held another recent town hall where she faced an angry crowd of Iowans in Mason City at the end of April.
Two audience members at Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley’s most recent town hall in April shouted hostile remarks across the room to each other in front of the longtime senator.
Town hall audience members press Rep. Hinson with questions on DOGE, Trump agenda
Neil Henkenius of Manchester, Iowa, told Hinson during the Elkader town hall that as a veteran, he thinks giving Musk’s authority to lead DOGE is like giving a “billionaire a chainsaw.”
“I’m not only speaking for myself, but I’m speaking for all of the veterans, all of the federal workers that are out there,” Henkenius said. “People don’t need a billionaire, like Musk, running our country.”
US Rep. Ashley Hinson defends Trump policy before boisterous crowd
US Rep. Ashley Hinson defended cuts made by the Trump administration as a town hall member dismisses what he called tax cuts for the wealthy.
Hinson replied that she’s on the House Committee on Appropriations, which oversees federal spending, adding she supports funding for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and research, but wants to “make sure dollars are going where they should be going.”
Hinson is also a part of the House DOGE Caucus.
“I think that Elon Musk came in and helped to join and lead a team of people who are actively working to find this waste, fraud and abuse every single day,” Hinson said, droned out by yells from the audience. “… Some of the things that they are discovering every day would make your skin crawl.”
Steve Peterson of Decorah said at the town hall that he’s sick of corruption in Washington, D.C., referencing Trump’s acceptance of a luxury Boeing 747 from the Qatari government to replace Air Force One.
“Could you help me understand why you are silent?” Peterson asked.
Hinson said she rejects the premise in the question posted that she likes to see corruption in the federal government, and that she’s at the town halls answering the public’s questions because she cares about transparency.
“Many of you probably didn’t vote for me, some of you probably did,” Hinson said after a few back-and-forths with Peterson. “What I think is important is leading by example, so what I did when I was named to the House Appropriations Committee, for example I want you to know that any decision that I make, any funding requests I make is not something that I am going to get a kickback on.”
Iowa farmer Devin Brincks of Ossian said after the Decorah event that as Republican-leaning voter who’s supported Hinson in the past, there hasn’t been enough respect for her and other elected officials during the town halls.
Brincks asked Hinson about the possibility of securing year-round sales of E15, which is gasoline blended with 15% ethanol. Trump recently granted a waiver for the sale of E15 for the summer months, but the year-round vending of the product has been a top concern for many farmers.
“Whether it’s at the state level or the national level, at the end of the day, they’re trying to do a job, they’re trying to present to us what they’re doing,” Brincks said. “I was in the second row, and it was hard to hear what she was saying half the time. … I don’t necessarily agree with everything she does, but I want to hear what she has to say.”
Nick Larson, of Walker, Iowa, said he drove over an hour to speak to Hinson about his concerns.
“I think she’s hyper-political. I think she throws a bunch of political stuff out there, but I think she’s probably pretty pragmatic and does listen,” Larson, who is a Democrat, said after the town hall. “I mean, I thought she listened to the answers and tried to answer them, but then she’d throw political things in there, which was unfortunate because we’re just wasting time. The first 20 minutes was a waste of time. We didn’t need to hear a political speech.”
Sabine Martin covers politics for the Register. She can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at (515) 284-8132. Follow her on X at @sabinefmartin.