As Republicans face voters during tense town halls, it's about sticking to the script

The August recess is a time for Congress to put in face time at home, meet with constituents and maybe lay the foundation for a reelection bid.

This August, though, is quieter for some Republican members, as they navigate how to message about the One Big Beautiful Bill, President Trump's signature legislation signed into law in July.

Ahead of the recess, the National Republican Congressional Committee, an organization dedicated to increasing the amount of GOP seats in the House, sent Republican lawmakers a memo to "Make August Count," with crafted messaging and language to use when interacting with constituents, encouraging them to go on offense to sell their legislative victories.

"The playbook is simple: focus on Republicans' efforts to improve voters' everyday lives and show the contrast with out of touch Democrats," the memo read.

In-person and telephone town halls used to be a common way for members Congress to connect with constituents following a busy session. Earlier this year, though, the NRCC urged Republicans to avoid town halls altogether — and those lawmakers seem to be listening.

Out of 219 House Republicans, roughly 37 hosted some kind of townhall so far during the August recess, according to an NPR tally. Of those, approximately 16 hosted at least one in-person event. Some have held multiple events.

In a statement to NPR, NRCC spokesperson Mike Marinella said Republicans are using the recess to "prove we deliver for America," trying to draw a distinction between the GOP and Democrats, stating the blue team is "knifing each other in primaries, bleeding support, and cozying up to criminals."

"The contrast couldn't be clearer: Republicans fight for you - Democrats are tearing the country apart," he stated.

Still, amid a flurry of events held by Democratic members of Congress eager to message against the legislation and Republicans in power, the fraction of Republicans holding town halls gives a sense of what is on voters' minds — and how the GOP has to address those concerns.

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Take the tense scene inside a packed auditorium in Lincoln, Nebraska, recently, where Republican Rep. Mike Flood faced hundreds of constituents during an August 4 town hall.

Many were vocal about his support for President Trump and his vote in favor of the legislation. They pressed Flood on his policy positions on different issues, especially one related to the recent legislation: health care.

"How can you justify taking health care away from 78,000 Nebraskans?," asked one attendee, referring to the Medicaid cuts outlined in the expansive spending package passed along party lines.

Flood's responses to the hasty questions often followed a formula. He would state something positive about the policy while propping up a conservative talking point.

"You have an additional $700 million coming into the state of Nebraska for Nebraska hospitals," he said. "If you are able to work and you're 28yearsold and you choose not to work, you don't get free health care in America."

Those are similar to the talking points the NRCC encouraged Republicans to focus on: issues that polled well among voters, including provisions in the bill that remove taxes on tips and overtime and work requirements for those on Medicaid. Lawmakers who decided to host town halls heeded the NRCC's advice.

Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., held a telephone townhall in July. Like Flood, he was asked about Medicaid cuts by a voter named Daniel Manella.

"The bill also cuts out $700 billion from Medicaid and millions of people are going to lose their insurance coverage. So what leads you to believe that this is good?," Manella asked his representative.

Newhouse refuted the notion that people were going to lose access to health care. Instead, he said Americans looking for subsidized insurance have a choice to make.

"We're going to encourage work in this country, which used to be a good thing. Work ethic is something that we value," Newhouse responded. "If somebody is going to be benefiting from the American taxpayer and they're able to work, then they should."

NPR reviewed nearly 10 recent town halls. The same series of questions seemed to be at the top of voters' minds at each event. They were concerned about health care, immigration and tax cuts. Multiple constituents reiterated the same question, especially if they didn't think it was answered adequately. But the lawmakers rarely veered away from the NRCC's talking points.

Karen Fulbright-Anderson asked Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., about the tax cuts outlined in the bill, at his town hall event in a high school auditorium in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. She wanted to know when he was going to "take as good of care of your constituents who are not super wealthy as you do of the ones who are wealthy."

"It appears that people who are earning $200,000 and less are going to pay more in taxes. People who are making $1 million and more are going to be getting big tax cuts," she told him.

Steil said he disagreed with the way she framed the issue. The tax provisions of the bill, he said, was to keep the 2017 tax cuts passed during Trump's first administration intact. Then, he highlighted parts of the bill that have resonated with voters.

"What we did is we added in tax benefits for middle income workers $75,000 and below as it relates to overtime and as it relates to taxes on tips," Steil told Fulbright-Anderson.

Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, also stressed the importance of the tax cuts during his small in-person townhall at a brewery in McKinney, Texas, about 30 miles outside of Dallas.

"No tax on tips, no tax on overtime, reduced taxes on Social Security, on and on and on. So, I will tell you, what I fought hard for, though, is tax cuts. And that was the crown jewel of this One Big, Beautiful Bill."

Jim Curry, a political science professor who studies Congress at Notre Dame University, said it's tough for Republicans to play offense on the megabill.

"I don't think the Republicans messaging on the bill is particularly strong or effective, in part because it's not very clear cut," Curry said.

He added that it would be a hard sell because the law covers a wide array of different issues and Republicans probably knew it was going to be an uphill battle. A July NPR/PBS News/Marist poll found 52% of registered voters disapprove of Republicans' performance in Congress.

Although, Curry said it was never going to be easy, especially for a new majority.

"What almost invariably happens is a party sweeps into power. They're given control of everything, and then they overreach. And they tend to overreach early by doing stuff that goes a bit beyond what voters maybe had hoped for or wished for or expected," he said.

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