Just 11 members of Congress have scheduled public town halls during the August recess.
A report from Axios called the events an endangered species, particularly after far-left activists took over many events to scream at Republican lawmakers in response to DOGE and layoffs of federal workers early in the Trump administration.
“August recess once meant lawmakers returning home to face constituents — sometimes friendly, sometimes furious. After a wave of explosive confrontations last year, many lawmakers have stopped them altogether,” the report says in part.
“For a ritual once synonymous with August, that’s a remarkably thin showing,” the report continues.
Legistorm, which compiled the data, found 2024 featured an all-time low in events.
The tracker showed lawmakers held 1,018 events that year, the lowest since the company began tracking Congressional events. Prior to 2022, the average number of town hall events per year was 2,685.
Rep. Mike Flood (R-NE) told Axios, “You’ve got to show up in the town square and answer the questions. I told people I’d do it when I ran, and I kept my promise.”
Far-left activists began flooding town hall events early in 2025, prompting National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Chairman Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) to advise Republican members to stop holding the events.
Speaker Mike Johnson added, “There are people who do this as a profession, they’re professional protesters,” in a report by Politico.
Flood also said that the heated moments don’t always capture what else happens inside the room.
“What you see on TV isn’t necessarily what’s really happening,” he told Axios. Even the ‘really animated’ constituents who disagree with him on most issues, said Flood, may applaud him on others — from supporting Ukraine to addressing housing affordability.
Other members holding events this month include Reps. Lauren Underwood (D-IL), Herb Conaway (D-NJ), and Pat Fallon (R-TX).