Many Republican representatives have faced backlash over their support of the GOP's health-care replacement plans, although California Rep. Doug LaMalfa's town hall in Chico on Monday took a particularly vicious, personal turn, the Los Angeles Times reports. While LaMalfa's 1st Congressional District, in the state's northeast corner, heavily favored Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, LaMalfa's constituents openly expressed their fury over his support of the House bill to replace the Affordable Care Act, with one man telling him, "May you die in pain."
Another attendee dressed up as the "Wicked Witch of the West Coast" to protest LaMalfa's vote and Ann Sisney of Chico presented the lawmaker with a picture of her son, William, who died of an opioid overdose, telling LaMalfa, "These are life-and-death decisions that you are making." Other audience members booed and shouted when LaMalfa spoke.
Despite facing open hostility, LaMalfa is the only California Republican holding town halls during Congress' August recess, and he has made himself accessible by hosting similar events in the 1st Congressional District in March and April. "I am open to new ideas," he assured his audience Monday.
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