GOP Rep. Byron Donalds faces shouting, critical questions over DOGE at contentious town hall

Source: CNN Politics

Updated 10:25 PM EDT, Mon April 21, 2025


CNN — GOP Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida faced frequent shouting from the crowd at a contentious town hall on Monday with a number of attendees asking critical questions about the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency. The congressman repeatedly asked the crowd to let him speak, saying, “do you want to yell, or do you want to hear?” At another point, he told one attendee that she was being disrespectful for disrupting.

During the event, Donalds was asked what oversight he is imposing on Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency as a member of the House Oversight Committee – to loud applause, cheering and whistling. The reaction from the crowd was mixed throughout the event as Donalds received applause alongside boos at various points. “We actually have to let the DOGE actually finish its work. What they are examining right now is inefficiency in the federal system,” the congressman said.

Donalds then began to say that President Barack Obama also wanted to look at inefficiency within the federal government during his time in office, attempting to draw a parallel between that and what Musk is doing – an assertion that prompted loud shouting from the crowd. The event comes as relatively few Republicans have held in-person town halls compared to Democratic lawmakers during the current congressional recess period. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have faced frustrated constituents, with Republicans facing criticism over the Trump administration and Democrats facing criticism that the party is not doing enough to counter the administration.

Not long after the first question on DOGE, an attendee asked, “Do you approve of Elon and DOGE invading our Social Security files?” The question led to roaring applause from the crowd. Donalds began to answer by saying, “Elon Musk and DOGE have been authorized by the president of the United States–-” and was quickly met with loud boos.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/21/politics/byron-donalds-doge-town-hall/index.html