15-03-2025
Michael Baumgartner to hold town hall meetings on Monday in Spokane and Ritzville
Mar. 14—WASHINGTON — Rep. Michael Baumgartner will meet with his constituents in Spokane and Ritzville on Monday, a relatively rare move at a time when many of his fellow Republicans are avoiding in-person town halls in their districts.
The first-term Republican from Spokane announced the two town hall meetings in a statement on Friday, reiterating his commitment to meet regularly with the people he represents — even after the chairman of the House GOP's campaign arm, Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, reportedly advised his fellow Republicans on March 4 to stop holding town halls amid public anger over the Trump administration's first two months in office.
"I came to Congress to fight for Eastern Washington's values and its people," Baumgartner said in a statement. "These town halls are an opportunity to hear directly from you, my 'bosses,' about what matters most. I intend to continue hosting town halls in all forms as your Congressman. Whether you voted for me or not, I work for you, and I am grateful for the chance to serve all of Eastern Washington."
The first meeting is scheduled to run from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. at Legion Hall, located at 106 W. Broadway Ave in Ritzville.
Later on Monday, the congressman will appear at Whitworth University's Cowles Auditorium as part of the school's Democracy & Discourse speaker series. That event will begin at 6 p.m. and attendance will require a free ticket, which can be obtained at the following website:
Tickets became available online, according to Whitworth, only after the Senate passed a spending bill to fund the government and avert a shutdown that would have begun on Saturday and required lawmakers to remain in Washington, D.C.
Orion Donovan Smith's work is funded in part by members of the Spokane community via the Community Journalism and Civic Engagement Fund. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.
