No Answers: Montana’s congressional delegation absent at Missoula event

Martin Kidston

(Missoula Current) Several hundred people gathered in downtown Missoula on Monday night to engage in a town hall with the state's congressional delegation, where they hoped to discuss current events and concerns.

But when members of the delegation failed to attend, organizers were left gathering questions from the crowd, promising to deliver them by hand to the offices of Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy, and Rep. Ryan Zinke.

“We're here to express our strong concerns about all the actions being taken by the Trump-Musk administration, or as some might say, the Musk-Trump administration,” said organizer Meredith Printz. “We wanted to express these concerns directly to our federal elected representatives. But none of these representatives have shown up in person or by Zoom, even though they were invited.”

Members of the delegation were issued invitations on March 11, according to organizers. Among other things, the invitations iterated the need to have “timely, meaningful, and direct communication” between citizens and their representatives. They also pledged to maintain “respect and civility” during the event.

Event organizers said the invitations went unanswered.

“We started organizing this nine days ago,” said organizer Jim Sayer, who moderated Monday's event. “These elected representatives of ours should be here tonight. When will they do true town halls open to the general public?”

With roughly 300 people in attendance and 60 others attending online – and with no elected officials present to provide answers – members of the audience posed a number of questions and concerns, ranging from Social Security to Medicare.

Among them, Loraine Bond said she was diagnosed with breast cancer during a wellness exam several years ago. The cost of treatment has been steep, and she's concerned with congressional threats to Medicare.

“I'm not sure if treatment can continue if they cut or privatize Medicare,” she said. “Re-occurrence could be a death sentence and I'm in the middle class and I have insurance. Picture a single mother with several children and one of them gets sick. What's her choice?”

Healthcare provided by the Veterans Administration also emerged as a concern on Monday night. More than 1,000 staff members have been terminated from the agency in recent weeks under the Trump administration, prompting concerns that VA benefits could soon follow.

“The VA is not just a hospital. It's not just a service provider,” said one man in attendance. “It's a promise made and a promise kept. When they see that threatened or even taken away, what do you say to them?”

Monday's audience also included federal workers who have lost their job, or have been placed on leave by the Trump administration. That includes Forest Service employees who remain concerned about their jobs.

Last week Zinke said the Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Elon Musk, needed to “set their sights on the real waste – the overpaid lawyers, biologists and environmental zealots and the top-heavy bureaucracy” that is the Forest Service.

Mary Leslie, an employee with the Forest Service, took issue with Zinke's comment.

“Respectfully, sir, you are mistaken,” she said. “I make $49,000 a year and rent a one-bedroom apartment. Over 80% of the employees terminated make less than I do. We are not the problem.”

Concerns also have grown in recent weeks over the future of Social Security. Musk has made a number of claims regarding the program while several offices in Montana are “downsizing,” according to Zinke.

Some believe the Trump administration is looking to undermine confidence in the program and break the system in an intentional effort to end its run.

“Social Security is not an entitlement. It's our money that we and our employers contributed,” said Joyce Westerbur. “They're following the usual playbook by undercutting confidence, making it hard to access, staffing and long waits. The potential from irreparable damage, either by ignorance or malice, is real.”

Daines and Zinke didn't respond to a request for comment for this story.