Rep. Bill Keating addresses national crisis, federal cuts at Town Hall

During what Rep. Bill Keating called “the greatest crisis of democracy since the civil war,” hundreds filled the Wareham High School auditorium to share frustrations and fears over the controversial actions of the Trump Administration.

Keating, a Democrat, whose congressional district stretches from Hull to Provincetown and the Rhode Island border, spoke to approximately 500 constituents at a Town Hall forum on Thursday, March 20. He listened to their concerns and addressed what he and other Democrats intend to do about them. 

Since taking office, Trump has imposed tariffs on American allies like Canada and Mexico as well as antagonizers like China, fueling economic uncertainty. Through dozens of executive orders the president has rolled back environmental protections, made cuts to social programs like Medicaid and Social Security and begun dismantling the Department of Education — while working to fulfill a campaign promise of mass deportation for undocumented immigrants. 

Many of the Trump administration’s cuts and rollbacks have been facilitated by the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk. In the name of efficiency, Musk has fired hundreds of thousands of federal employees including National Park staff, FEMA workers, Department of Defense personnel and those working in U.S. foreign aid, among many others.  

Across the country Town Halls held by Republicans and Democrats have been a forum for outrage as unhappy citizens voice their displeasure with the actions of the federal government. 

Though the attendees in Wareham were on their best behavior, shouts of, “What are you going to do about it?” were frequently heard from the crowd. 

Craig Swallow, of New Bedford, said, “There’s no clear comprehensive plan from Democrats from what we can see and we’re 60 days in. That’s 60 days too long.”

Keating explained Democrats have had their hands tied in any effort to legislatively block the President’s agenda, being the minority party in both the House and Senate. However, he noted they have found success in the courts with federal judges determining certain executive orders are illegal. 

Two separate judges have ordered the Trump Administration to temporarily reinstate the jobs of thousands of federal employees who had been previously fired. 

“We are working through courts. We are working through Congress,” Keating repeated. “Because that’s what we can do. Don’t ask us to do what we can’t.”

Carl Wellfleet, of Cape Cod, received a loud applause from the audience after asking Keating when he and his fellow representatives would make an attempt at impeaching Trump.

Wellfleet said, “It’s the only thing that can be done to stop them and will also let people know that the Democrats are doing something about it.”

Keating said the House of Representatives has tried impeachment twice in the past and this time, “It’s not going to work. We don’t have the numbers.”

Alexie Rudman of Dartmouth said she works as a coastal climate researcher and wanted to know more about what Democrats are doing to protect the environment and science amid administration cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency and related departments.

“This attack on science has an enormous effect on our economy, on our health,” Keating said, highlighting how the new director of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lee Zeldin, doesn’t believe climate has an effect on human health.

Given the fact his district is largely coastal, he said the environment is a high priority issue: “I see it every time we have a storm.”

Prior to the Town Hall, attendees had the opportunity to submit questions — many of which addressed concerns regarding Social Security, the Department of Education and DOGE. 

Keating described acts done by DOGE as “indefensible” morally and legally. “These are people’s lives — these are public servants,” he said of the federal employees who were fired by DOGE.

He and his fellow Democrats have continued to work on bills aimed at protecting and restoring programs affected by the executive orders, including Social Security. But without a majority, progress is slow.

“We are pushing forward in spite of that,” Keating said. “Just because a bill is not passed, doesn’t mean we’re not doing anything.”

The Department of Education cannot be dismantled without congressional approval, so Republicans are putting together a “skeletal organization” in an attempt to avoid legal challenges, Keating explained. He added that much of Republican’s work is intended to push an ideological agenda for Christian, conservative education. 

“Eliminating the Department of Education isn’t about money, it’s deeper than that,” he said.

In addition to ideological concerns, Keating fears that the dissolution of the Department of Education will have disastrous consequences in states like Mississippi where 73% of their education budget comes from federal sources.