A ticked-off crowd greeted Rep. Jason Chaffetz at his town hall in Utah

(Image credit: Getty Images)

last updated 10 February 2017

If Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the Utah Republican who heads the House Oversight Committee, thought his Thursday night town hall in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, was going to be a low-key affair, he realized otherwise once he entered the Brighton High School auditorium to a cacophony of boos.

More than 1,000 people filled the room, with hundreds more outside shouting "Do your job!" and carrying signs that read "Give me tax returns or give me impeachment," the Daily Herald reports. Chaffetz started the event by telling the crowd to "Relax, relax," but he was soon peppered with questions about everything from immigration to his support for President Trump. When asked about Trump's tax returns, Chaffetz said he hasn't changed his position from the campaign. "I said if you're going to run for president, you should have to release your tax returns," he said. "Here's the difference. That's my opinion. My guess is everyone in here has that same opinion. But it's not required by law." The crowd jeered.

Chaffetz was booed when he described Vice President Mike Pence as "like, the most decent human being," was shouted down when he dodged around a question about defunding Planned Parenthood, and was told "We want to get rid of you!" when he said he wants to eliminate the Department of Education and "get rid of Betsy DeVos." CNN's Kyung Lah reports that the contentious town hall ended an hour early, and Chaffetz did not stick around to answer questions from the media, with his spokesman saying the town hall "speaks for itself."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.