Utah Rep. Maloy offers tepid criticism of some White House spending cuts
at town hall
[March 21, 2025]
By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Republican U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy received
applause at a Thursday town hall in Salt Lake City when she told the
crowd she’s concerned about the country drifting toward authoritarianism
“if we don’t get the executive branch under control.”
But the cheers turned to boos when she added those worries weren't
specific to Republican President Donald Trump.
“When Biden was president, I had the same concern," she said, referring
to former Democratic President Joe Biden.
Maloy's comments summed up her careful approach to criticizing Trump
throughout the event, which she held with Republican U.S. Rep. Mike
Kennedy. The Utah lawmakers are among a handful of Republicans who have
held public meetings against the recommendation of House Speaker Mike
Johnson, who encouraged them to skip out after others drew protesters.
The boisterous audience in liberal Salt Lake City repeatedly urged Maloy
to denounce Trump’s sweeping federal budget cuts. Maloy wields power
over federal funding as a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
She and Kennedy said they opposed some of the administration's cuts,
including to the National Park Service. But Maloy also said tough
spending decisions are necessary.
“We are not going to get out of the situation we’re in financially
without all of us feeling some pain,” she said.
Maloy said she and Kennedy held the town hall because they believed Utah
could set an example on how to hold civil discussions about tough
issues. Questions were sent in to a message board and attendees could
vote for those they were most interested in hearing. The question about
authoritarianism came from a man who stood up and shouted it.
To jeers from the crowd, Kennedy defended Trump’s actions in his first
three months in the White House, including the president's move to end
foreign aid contracts at the U.S. Agency for International Development.
“We need to make sure that our own house is in order," he said. “We’re
spending money off in foreign lands on things that may or may not be
meritorious. In this case, our grandchildren will be paying back with
economic disaster.”
Maloy took a more tepid approach, telling the crowd she sees a need for
more checks on the executive branch as Trump has signed a flurry of
executive orders.
[to top of second column]
|
Reps. Mike Kennedy and Celeste Maloy, R-Utah, speak during a GOP
town hall meeting Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP
Photo/Rick Egan)
She said she called the White House to express concern about an
order that directed federal agencies to lay off hundreds of
thousands of probationary employees. Judges recently ordered the
workers to be rehired. She said she supports broad efforts to shrink
the size and scope of the federal government but thinks the mass
firing of probationary workers was the wrong approach.
Many questions focused on how federal budget cuts might impact
Utah's vast public lands, including its five national parks. Both
lawmakers said they opposed the Trump administration's reductions of
National Park Service staff, but that they had little power to
influence his decisions. Some jobs have been restored.
Maloy, who lives just north of Zion National Park, began her career
at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, working to conserve natural
resources, improve water quality and manage nutrients in the
farmlands of southwest Utah. In Congress, she has served on
subcommittees focusing on water resources and rural development. Her
district includes many rural towns known for outdoor recreation.
Kennedy is a family doctor and former state senator. His district
spans the entire eastern border of the state and groups vastly
different communities, from the winter resort town of Park City, to
the urban center of Provo, down to the red rock recreation hub of
Moab.
Voters from both parties said after the town hall they had hoped to
hear more about Social Security. Dozens of the program’s offices
across the country are slated to close due to actions taken by Elon
Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Not everyone in the crowd opposed Trump's actions. Andrew Turner, a
30-year-old Republican and engineering student, said he wished the
lawmakers had more time to address the future of Social Security and
criticized the audience for talking over Maloy and Kennedy as they
tried to answer questions.
“Something will have to be done about Social Security because
otherwise it’s going to collapse,” he said. “I know as somebody
who’s younger, at the current trajectory, I’m probably not going to
be able to use the program. So I support the budget cuts Trump is
doing.”
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
