Greg Landsman, the second-term Democratic congressman from Mt. Washington, got an earful in two town hall meetings this weekend.
Maybe more than he bargained for.
His constituents delivered some very mixed messages to the visibly tired congressman, on break during a congressional recess where being a minority Democrat under the Capitol dome is a truly bruising job.
He then came home to take more bruises at town hall meetings.
The bruising came from people who, for the most part, voted for him in 2024 and 2022, when the former Cincinnati Council member ousted Republican Steve Chabot from the House seat he had kept in GOP hands for 18 years.
In his opening remarks during the virtual forum — which had hundreds of listeners on a Zoom call, many of them wanting to question the congressman — Landsman made his position clear.
“We are witnessing a hostile takeover of the government,’’ Landsman said. “An un-elected billionaire is indiscriminately firing people, ruining their lives.”
Trump and his allies told voters what they would do if elected, Landsman said.
“Project 2025 was a governing document; it is a governing document,” Landsman said.
But his constituents were there mostly to vent their frustrations over actions by the Trump administration, a scene unfolding across the country for both Democrats and Republicans alike.
The people in his 1st Congressional District who attended were there to speak out against what is happening in the Trump White House, which many said is deliberately dismantling the federal government.
That, of course, includes the stuff they like — Social Security. Medicare. Medicaid. Obamacare. The Department of Education.
And, while many thanked the congressman for his opposition to the Trump agenda, some of them blamed Landsman for not doing enough about it.
Some said he should introduce more legislation to throw a wrench into the works of the GOP and the budget-slashing by President Donald Trump and the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, and their new government agency, the Department of Government Efficiency.
Others argued legislation doesn’t work.
A woman named Tricia complained bitterly on the virtual town hall that Landsman and his Democratic colleagues should file articles of impeachment against the president.
When Landsman said impeachment was unlikely to succeed and their energy should be focused on convincing even a handful of congressional Republicans to join them on legislation, Tricia was having none of it.
“File articles of impeachment every single day,’’ she said.
One man asked Landsman what he could do in Congress to prevent an upending of the 2021 Infrastructure Bill backed by President Biden and congressional Democrats.
“If DOGE gets to that, I am unemployed the very next day,” he said.
A woman named Iris wanted to know what he is doing to stop the U.S. from abandoning Ukraine in a war the Russians started with their invasion of that sovereign three years ago this week.
All Landsman could say is that he is opposed to the shift in policy.
“I’m opposed to what (Trump) is doing,’’ Landsman said. “It will just lead to violence and chaos in Eastern Europe.”
But, during the hour-long virtual session, while hundreds of listeners fired off chat messages no one could keep up with, Landsman tried to explain the situation and what could be done about it.
His Republican colleagues, he said, are holding town halls during the recess all over the country and are getting pushback from their constituents in ruby-red districts.
“People are showing up at town halls all over the country, particularly in Republican districts,’’ Landsman said. “It has been brutal for them.”
And, he said, polling has been shifting against Trump and MAGA members of Congress “pretty rapidly.”
“The Republican budget will be soundly rejected by the American people,’’ Landsman said.
When he was criticized by some at the town halls for not “doing more” to stop Trump and Musk, he had an answer.
“You can come up against the party that is with you or you can go up against the people who are against you,” Landsman said. “Your choice.”
There are currently 218 Republicans and 215 Democrats in the House. The GOP majority is tissue-paper thin.
“Congress has the power to make (Trump) follow the law,” Landsman said. “All we need is three Republicans to come with us and we can stop anything.
“I’ve got to get those members of Congress to get on board with us, or get out of the way,” Landsman said. “That’s all it takes.”
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