Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz, head of the House Oversight Committee, heard from a lot of angry people during his town hall tonight.
Considering Chaffetz’s role and his past investigations of Hillary Clinton, some critics of President Trump have been outraged that he hasn’t shown a greater willingness to hold the current president to account too.
Chaffetz yesterday downplayed the significance of Trump’s Nordstrom tweet, but today he made it abundantly clear that Kellyanne Conway plugging Ivanka Trump‘s brand was wrong.
Well, the venue for Chaffetz’s town hall was packed tonight, and there were people outside as well:
800 people outside the Jason Chaffetz town hall who can’t make it in because the auditorium is full, chanting “you work for us!” pic.twitter.com/VPhjbYC5iZ
— JT Olds (@jtolds) February 10, 2017
Auditorium for Cong Chaffetz Town hall packed. Police say 1000 outside. Now chanting, “You work for us!” @UtahIndivisible @IndivisibleTeam pic.twitter.com/R9iDakiWrZ
— Kyung Lah (@KyungLahCNN) February 10, 2017
Inside, a lot of people had decidedly negative reactions to some of what Chaffetz was saying.
After one man asked him why he’s not investigating the president, people cheered and shouted “Do your job!”:
Cong Chaffetz Town Hall crowd chanting “Do your job!” He’s having a hard time answering over crowd noise @UtahIndivisible @IndivisibleTeam pic.twitter.com/gO0BXybGy5
— Kyung Lah (@KyungLahCNN) February 10, 2017
HUGE cheers — then a “do your job!” chant — when #Chaffetz is asked why he’s not conducting oversight on Trump to match Clinton’s. pic.twitter.com/CfzUgKbJeH
— Eric Bradner (@ericbradner) February 10, 2017
Chaffetz reiterated his past criticisms of Trump but called him “the far better choice” for president. The crowd erupted in boos again. He defended his decision not to go on a fishing expedition into Trump and this happened:
There you have it. “No reason to investigate Donald Trump. Smugly and sparkly #Chaffetz #TownHall pic.twitter.com/w6FkLZMBEs
— Anna Beck, MD (@AnnaBeckMD) February 10, 2017
And while he did reiterate at one point that he believes what Conway did was wrong, reporters on the scene tweeted that Chaffetz was getting this kind of reaction for most of the event:
Chaffetz: “So President Trump…”…Boo!
— paul schwartzman (@paulschwartzman) February 10, 2017
Chaffetz tries to cool the crowd down after shouts he didn’t answer the first question. “Relax, relax,” #Chaffetz says. The crowd boos.
— Eric Bradner (@ericbradner) February 10, 2017
Again, #Chaffetz says he wants Trump to release his tax returns, “but it is not required by law.” Reaction: pic.twitter.com/KF6rX8Ei3J
— Eric Bradner (@ericbradner) February 10, 2017
#Chaffetz, urging fewer jeers: “Folks, I get one sentence into it, you say I’m not answering the question – I AM answering the q, OK?” Then: pic.twitter.com/VUUDc3Toau
— Eric Bradner (@ericbradner) February 10, 2017
#Chaffetz says he wants to eliminate Edu Dept. “I want to get rid of Betsy DeVos!”
Man: “We want to get rid of you!”
Right vid this time: pic.twitter.com/VItRuX9d8A
— Eric Bradner (@ericbradner) February 10, 2017
Q’s to #Chaffetz in raucous town hall: Oversight, Trump investigation, Conway, BLM, representative govt. Sentiment: anger & frustration. pic.twitter.com/hvwpm9CnSJ
— Kyung Lah (@KyungLahCNN) February 10, 2017
#Chaffetz is powering thru, still answering q’s w/boo’s & chants. “It’s like the Price is Right in here,” he just said @UtahIndivisible pic.twitter.com/Pg8aIDXNkM
— Kyung Lah (@KyungLahCNN) February 10, 2017
“Relax, relax” says #Chaffetz at his town hall. Crowd not doing that. @UtahIndivisible @IndivisibleTeam pic.twitter.com/yp4V3t30eg
— Kyung Lah (@KyungLahCNN) February 10, 2017
And when the event finally ended and Chaffetz left the stage, there was more loud booing.
You can watch the full town hall at the top, via The Salt Lake Tribune.
[image via screengrab]
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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac
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