US Rep. Glenn Grothman Faces Hostile Crowd at Oshkosh Public Meeting
Overflow crowd couldn't get in. Constituents grill him about funding cuts, Elon Musk.
Around 100 people attend U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman’s town hall meeting in Oshkosh on Feb. 21, 2025. Nick Rommel/WPR
People booed and jeered at U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman as he walked into the Algoma Town Hall just outside Oshkosh Friday morning.
The Republican congressman from Glenbeulah was there for a town hall meeting with around 100 constituents. After the building hit full capacity, around 50 more stood outside.
“This is moving very quickly compared to other administrations, and I think, across the board, he’s done some very good things,” Grothman said.
Boos and shouts erupted around the room. When Grothman praised orders ending birthright citizenship and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, the crowd only got louder.
Grothman updated constituents on three of his goals in the current legislative session. One, he said, was “welfare reform.”
“There are a lot of problems with regard to welfare. One of them, of course, it discourages people from working,” he said.
Several people shouted “no!”
Grothman added he’s working on a grant program that would teach people to use EpiPens. Finally, he proposed decreasing GI benefits and letting veterans use them on down payments for houses.
Grothman has represented the the 6th Congressional District since 2015. In November, he won his race with more than 60 percent of the vote.
Grothman answers constituents’ questions
One woman asked Grothman if he would oppose the House’s upcoming government funding bill if it includes cuts to Social Security and Medicaid.
“Certainly, if Social Security is cut,” he answered. “And Medicaid, we’ll have to see.”
Another woman asked the congressman how he feels about the power of Elon Musk, the billionaire heading Trump’s cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency.
“He does not have the ability to do any actions on his own,” Grothman answered.
“We did not elect him,” a man shouted.
As the town hall reached its scheduled end, more constituents shouted questions about Musk’s access to taxpayer data and yelled “don’t lie to us” at Grothman.
Overflow crowd couldn’t get into event
The small town hall was at capacity for Grothman’s visit. Several dozen people were turned away at the door.
Several dozen people weren’t let into the town hall meeting with U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman after the venue reached capacity on Feb. 21, 2025. Nick Rommel/WPR
One of them was John Kelnhofer of Oshkosh. It was his first time trying to attend one of Grothman’s town halls, he said.
“But it’s gotten to an extreme level now, where I fear for our democracy, I fear for the future of our country,” he said.
Kelnhofer said he got to the town hall 30 minutes before the meeting’s scheduled start. He suggested Grothman choose a larger venue next time.
US Rep. Glenn Grothman faces hostile crowd at Oshkosh town hall meeting was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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Good article and it does raise some interesting questions. I still dont understand how the same people claiming they support by definition racist dei policies also support blocking children of color from attending better private schools in their area with vouchers like wealthy white families are able to? How can you claim to advocate for people of color but then also work to deprive them of educational opportunity. This makes no sense. In addition it does seem that federal cuts could be done in a more organized and compassionate manner moving forward. How can people support much of the waste fraud and abuse that is being uncovered? One would think that this is where the anger should be focused on the billions of dollars essentially stolen from the American taxpayers.