Republicans in the toughest swing districts become hard to find for people angry about Trump

Source: AP

Updated 8:54 AM EDT, April 27, 2025


MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Many days over the past two weeks, no one answered the phone at any of U.S. Rep. Scott Perry’s four offices. Perry’s team did not share details about the Republican congressman’s public appearances until they were over. Even supporters who live in Perry’s central Pennsylvania district could not remember the last time he hosted an in-person town hall.

No one opened the locked door at his district office in Mechanicsburg last week when an Associated Press reporter rang the bell. A male voice said through the intercom, “I don’t have any public appearance information that I can provide.”

The U.S. House is ending a 17-day recess, typically known as a district work period, in which members of Congress return home to focus on their constituents. But some of the most vulnerable Republicans limited their potential exposure to the potential backlash from President Donald Trump’s first months in office.

They are embracing the strategy outlined by GOP leaders in Washington who argue there is no benefit to creating more viral moments such as the crowd in Asheville, North Carolina, that booed U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards and the pointed questions about tariffs and deportations that were directed at U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/republicans-recess-congress-no-town-halls-de45284c77fbc54a13c7090f75994674