Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., is hosting a series of town hall meetings at a break-neck pace, even as many of his Republican colleagues are avoiding in-person, open forum meetings because of a unified, anti-President Trump push from the left.
A recent tally by Legistorm, a subscriber service that tracks congressional staff and other Capitol Hill intelligence, showed that collectively Capitol Hill’s 292 Republicans only scheduled 88 such forums in January and February, compared to 222 in the first two months of the 114th Congress.
Sensenbrenner accounted for 35 of the 88 scheduled.
“I have held regular in-person town hall meetings since I began serving in the House of Representatives,” the veteran lawmaker wrote on his website Thursday. “In fact, I host more than 100 public events each year. I’m extremely proud of this, and it’s something I believe is not only important for the sake of democracy, but it’s invaluable to me as I work to best represent the interests of my district.”
“Constituents who attend my town hall meetings hold beliefs that span the ideological spectrum, and I have made it a point to always be easily accessible to them all,” he continued. “Challenging those in power and fighting for what we believe in is the American way—it’s what this nation was founded upon. But despite these disagreements, it is possible to find common ground, because at the heart of every issue is the desire to find solutions that make life better for every American.”
Sensenbrenner hasn’t seen quite the hostility that some members have, such as House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, who went home earlier this month only to be greeted by large crowds chanting “do your job!” Still, Sensenbrenner’s support for Trump’s controversial immigration order and appointment to the Judiciary Committee’s immigration subcommittee chairmanship have made him a target for pro-immigration groups.
Nevertheless, he pledged to continue meeting with constituents in open forums as he has since first winning election in 1978.
“I believe that good policy requires input from both sides of the aisle, and continuing open discussions on the problems we face will enable us as a nation to find real solutions,” Sensenbrenner wrote. “The process is never easy — sometimes it’s contentious — but if we listen and respect one another, I’m confident that at the end of the day, we will find ourselves in a better place than where we began.”
