RECESS TACTICS TARGETING YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
This recess, our main ask is for every single Member of Congress to host an in-district town hall (preferably multiple!). These are events open to the public that allow constituents to take their stories and concerns directly to their elected officials and demand a real-time response. Town halls allow for maximum visibility and accountability, and if you plan ahead, you’ll be able to turn even a quick interaction into a major headline. But if your MoC refuses to hold a real town hall, Indivisibles will be organizing empty chair town halls to spotlight their absence.
A core principle behind all Indivisible events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values.
For Republicans:
We cannot let Republicans escape the fury of their constituents while they're home for recess. We’re calling on every Republican to host a public town hall and face the constituents whose benefits they’re pushing to eliminate. Even if they're receiving marching orders to avoid public events at all costs, it's up to us to demand them — and if they refuse, we'll be ready to organize impactful events that spotlight their absence.
For Democrats:
Republicans must pay a political price for backing billionaires over working families, but we need Democrats to mobilize during the congressional recess in order to sound the alarm with their constituents. We’re asking every Democratic MoC to commit to the following:
- Host a public town hall: Every single Democratic Member of Congress must hold a town hall in order to educate the public on what's really at stake in this fight, and show they are the party committed to fighting for working people over billionaires.
- Attend empty chair town halls being organized in red districts: If Republicans are dodging their constituents, Democrats must fill the void by participating in empty chair town halls, to rally opposition and make the Trump Tax Scam politically toxic on Republican's home turf. We encourage them to adopt a neighboring GOP district with an absentee MoC and take part in an empty chair town hall.
- Note: House ethics guidelines and other guardrails prevent House members from using their official office, staff, or resources to host their own town hall or similar event in a district other than their own. However, they may attend events in other districts hosted by Indivisible groups or other partners. So, while their office cannot host and staff an Adopt-A-District Town Hall, the member can receive an invite from a local group (like an Indivisible group!) and attend as a guest speaker in their personal capacity. If your Indivisible group is hosting a Town Hall and would like to invite a House member to attend, they must attend in their official or personal capacity. The member should not be invited in their campaign capacity.
Here's how to get organized for your MoC's town hall — and if they're too cowardly to host one, check out our alternative tactic below.
HOW TO FIND OUT IF YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS IS PLANNING A TOWN HALL
Attending public events is one of the most effective ways to hold your Member of Congress accountable – which is why they’re increasingly trying to avoid them, and making it harder for constituents to find their event schedule. Follow the tips below to check on your MoC’s plans, and then share your information through this form so we can add it to our tracker!
✅ Check Their Website – Most MoCs list upcoming town halls, office hours, and public events on their official House or Senate websites. Here’s a search engine pro-tip: you can use the boolean operators in Google, searching site:house.gov "town hall" or site:senate.gov "town hall" and then setting your time range to the past week, to find recent posts about upcoming town halls. You can also remove terms with things like "-telephone" so you’re only finding in-person events.
📧 Sign Up for Email Alerts – Many MoCs send newsletters with event announcements. Subscribe to their email list via their website to receive updates directly in your inbox.
📱 Follow Their Social Media – Lawmakers often post event details on their Facebook, Bluesky, Twitter (X), and Instagram pages. Be sure to check their official accounts regularly.
💻 Check Mobilize for Existing Events – Go through our national map on Mobilize to see if there's already a town hall registered.
📞 Call Their Office – If no public events are listed, call your MoC’s district office and ask when they’ll be available to meet with constituents. The office staff should be able to provide event details or take note of your request.
🚨 If They Aren't Holding Public Events, Demand One – If your MoC is dodging town halls or refusing to meet with constituents, make noise. Call their office, tag them on social media, and organize an Empty Chair Town Hall to highlight their absence.
PREPARE FOR YOUR TOWN HALL
Getting Organized:
- Once you have confirmation of the event and date, register the town hall on Mobilize and tell everyone you can about the event, including like-minded activists, groups, neighbors, and community members. Ask folks in your network to share widely on social media, and encourage registrants to bring a friend. Please note that you can, if needed, set an event to have a limit on signups, or you can set the information to be private.
- Practice your personal story, and review our list of questions (below) so you’re prepped to speak.
- Make sure to confirm the venue and any limits on attendance or on materials you can bring (for example, you may not be able to bring large signs or backpacks).
Be Strategic During the Event:
- Get there early and have your group spread out through the audience. Make sure everyone is prepared with a question if they’re called on, and that others are ready to record them.
- Ask sharp questions about their strategy — not gotcha questions.
- If they refuse to answer, don’t let them off the hook. Be polite yet persistent.
- Social media coverage is crucial for shaping the narrative, especially with so many people watching what happens during recess. Share your MoC’s answers across social media, and tag Indivisible so we can uplift on Bluesky, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and TikTok.
Don’t Stop After the Town Hall Ends:
- Send your videos and stories to local press and to our press team for support: press@indivisible.org
- Call your MoC’s office the next day to thank them for hosting the event — and let them know you’ll be expecting another during the next recess.
A Note on Event Safety:
Please make sure everyone attending the town hall with you exercises best judgement on safety and security while participating. For more information, please check out our full resource.
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR REPUBLICAN MOC
These questions are designed to corner them, force them to answer for their complicity and make them squirm. You can use this website created by House Democrats to pull district-specific data on how Republicans’ economic plans would impact constituents.
Key Questions for Republicans:
- “Do you think those making over 50 million dollars a year should receive a tax break? How about 100 million?” Keep raising the number to force them to either compromise on an amount, or acknowledge that, when it comes to helping their billionaire donors, the limit does not exist.
- “Your plan slashes Medicaid and food assistance but gives Elon Musk a tax break. Why?”
- “How do you justify cutting meals for kids while cutting taxes for billionaires?”
- “Republicans claim to be fiscally responsible, so why are you increasing the deficit for the benefit of billionaires?”
- “Why is the Trump Tax Scam funding attacks on immigrants instead of holding billionaires accountable?”
- “Do you support using the budget reconciliation process to force Project 2025 on the country?”
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR DEMOCRATIC MOC
Democrats have power — if they use it. Republicans control both chambers of Congress, but still couldn’t pass a government funding bill without Democrats. All but one House Democrat united to reject the Republican continuing resolution, but 10 Senate Democrats caved and allowed the CR to pass. So we need to show House Democrats that we have their backs when they do the right thing, while pushing them to use their leverage and hold the line against Trump and Musk —especially in the Senate.
Key Questions for Democrats:
- “How are you using your leverage to protect programs working families rely on?”
- “Will you commit to doing everything in your power to stop or obstruct the Trump Tax Scam?”
- “What specific actions are you taking to stop Republican sabotage and fight back against the Trump-Musk coup?”
- “How will you push other members of your party who have yet to speak out against Musk’s power grab to unequivocally condemn it?”
- [For Senators only:] “Will you commit to voting no on nominations and using every procedural tool to slow down or block confirmations while the Trump-Musk coup continues?”
We also need to hold those 10 Senate Democrats accountable for helping Republicans pass their coup-enabling continuing resolution. Those Democrats are: Sen. Chuck Schumer (NY), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Sen. John Fetterman (PA), Sen. Brian Schatz (HI), Sen. Dick Durbin (IL), Sen. Maggie Hassan (NH), Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (NH), Sen. Catherine Cortez-Maso (NV), Sen. Gary Peters (MI), Sen. Angus King (ME). If your senator is among those that surrendered their leverage, here’s what you say:
Let your Senator know:
- “I am outraged that you voted for cloture on the Republican continuing resolution.”
- Most Senate Democrats were united in holding the line for a clean 30 day CR, but because you caved and voted to invoke cloture on the Republican bill instead, it passed.
- The Republican CR makes extreme cuts to programs that my community relies on. It threatens Social Security, it slashes benefits to veterans, it will leave tens of thousands of families without homes or food.
- It’s a slush fund that not only enables Trump and Elon Musk’s power grab, it legitimizes their control over federal spending.
If they say that they voted “no” on final passage of the CR, you say:
“The cloture vote was where Democrats had opportunity to block this terrible continuing resolution, but you surrendered your leverage and allowed the CR to move forward, knowing full well that it would pass with just Republican votes. A symbolic ‘no’ vote on final passage is not enough — I expect you to actually fight for me, not give in to extreme MAGA demands.”
If they say that they acted to avoid a painful government shutdown, you say:
“The Republican continuing resolution also causes immense harm to our communities. The massive cuts to vital programs will hurt all everyday Americans: seniors, veterans, children, and working families will all be impacted. But the CR also gives Trump and Elon Musk even more control over federal spending, which we know will be even more disastrous.”
“Even federal employees agree that a government shutdown is better than passing the Republican CR.”
“Now that this long-term CR has passed, Democrats have lost their leverage to fight for a funding bill that includes ironclad protections to end the Trump-Musk coup. You surrendered your leverage to and lost any real chance to rein in Trump and Musk.”
Make your expectations of your Senator clear:
“I want my Senator to fight for me and my community. You have to stand up to the MAGA agenda, not enable it. I want to have your back, but you have to have mine first.”
Schumer’s Surrender
Schumer’s decision to surrender Democratic leverage to reign in Trump and Musk was a massive betrayal of the Democratic Party, of Indivisibles and activists organizing against this bill, and of our democracy. Because of Schumer’s failure, the bill included zero safeguards against Musk’s illegal and unconstitutional behavior. By refusing to hold the line, Senator Schumer went against the vast majority of his party to fully capitulate to Trump.
After the GOP bill passed, we organized emergency calls with Indivisible group leaders across the country to decide how we should respond. After intense discussion, we took a vote on how to proceed, and the results were overwhelming:
- 82% of New York Indivisible group leaders voted to demand that Schumer resign as Minority Leader.
- 91% of Indivisible group leaders nationwide agreed.
The message was clear: If Chuck Schumer is unwilling to lead the opposition, he must make way for someone who will. Accordingly, Indivisible National issued an official statement calling for his resignation. Indivisible groups across the country have been issuing similar statements in the following days. We don’t make this decision lightly. But Indivisibles deserve a Democratic Party, and leadership of that party, who is committed to fighting as hard as we are.
If you have a Democratic senator, call on them to push for Schumer to step aside. It’s time for new leadership. See our call script and email tool here for more information!