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Longtime Sen. Ron Wyden focused on several pressing national issues during a town hall in Prineville on Wednesday morning.
The April 1 event drew about 80 participants to the Crook County Fairgrounds. Wyden opened by noting the April Fool’s Day timing and pledged that Oregonians “will not be made fools” by developments in Washington, D.C., and under the Trump administration.
After brief remarks, Wyden quickly turned to audience questions, most of which centered on President Trump and his policies.
The first question asked whether a potential Democratic majority in Congress after the midterm elections could put new safeguards in place to limit Trump’s actions.
Referring to the President’s recent executive order to halt vote-by-mail, he said: “The best politics is good policy.” He insisted that “Trump won’t get rid of vote by mail” and argued that a Democratic majority would help protect vote-by-mail and shape future legislative fights. “We’re going to pull out all the stops,” he said.
Wyden stressed the importance of grassroots engagement, urging people who witness things that “are not right” to “blow the whistle.”
Voting rights resurfaced when an audience member asked about the SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) Act, a controversial measure that would require documented proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.
“The country is seeing how flawed this bill actually is,” he said, adding that he and several Congressional colleagues are working to block it.
Audience members also raised questions about the Epstein files. Wyden said he has launched an investigation to uncover wrongdoing and trace financial transactions, and he acknowledged he is receiving “a lot of flak” from the Trump administration for those efforts.
“But I’m not giving up for a second, because this is about … whether we’re going to root out a rigged political system and a rigged economic system,” he said.
Other questions reflected worries that the Trump administration is ignoring the rule of law in making policy decisions. One self-described Republican asked why there has been no serious talk of impeachment.
Wyden responded that impeachment proceedings must originate in the U.S. House of Representatives, so neither he nor any other senator can start the process. He pointed instead to the midterm elections, saying that outcomes across the country could significantly alter the political landscape.
Later in the event, Wyden, who has served in the Senate for 30 years, was asked whether he had ever seen a period like this in terms of presidential leadership and the national political climate.
“We have never had a time like this,” he said, again citing what he described as a dismissal of the rule of law.
Wyden closed the town hall — his 1,160th as a senator — by praising attendees for asking questions, debating issues, and holding him accountable.
“We ought to encourage these kinds of meetings,” he said. “That’s what’s good for America.”
