HOLLAND — Congressman Bill Huizenga, R-Holland, met with about 30 protesters outside his office in Holland on Friday, March 28. The protests, held weekly since the end of February, call for an in-person townhall, among addressing other grievances with the national government.
“It was a good mix of folks,” Huizenga told WOOD TV-8 on Friday. “There’s some genuinely concerned citizens and constituents that wanted to express themselves. I got a number of handshakes from those folks. And then there (were) the partisan folks … but it was wide-ranging.”
Concerns, he said, included tariffs and Social Security.
Protester Lisa Lenzo was passing out postcards when Huizenga emerged from his office to speak with demonstrators. But while his presence is what many of them sought to begin with, some still left frustrated.
“I think he’s on the defensive and that’s why he came out,” Lenzo said. “He was just so slick. I’m still mad about it. He was only answering the easier questions and evading the harder ones.”
Only a week before, the Ottawa County Democratic Party hosted a largely symbolic in-person townhall attended by over 300 constituents looking to share their frustrations. Huizenga told demonstrators on Friday, according to Lenzo, that he didn’t attend the townhall because he was still in session.
But she disagrees, pointing out the townhall was scheduled specifically so he’d be on recess. According to the official schedule for the U.S. House of Representatives, members had a “district work period” March 12-23, returning to in-session lawmaking Monday, March 24.
“It was such a bold, blatant lie that I just kind of was struck silent,” Lenzo said.
Huizenga’s office has not responded to multiple requests for comment from The Sentinel.
One of the protestors, Lenzo said, asked Huizenga if he’s behind what President Donald Trump has done since returning to the presidency. She didn’t like his answer.
“‘I’m behind Trump 100%,'” she said, recalling his words. “I don’t think there’s very many Republicans who will say that anymore, except for the people in Congress and in the Senate because they’re afraid of being primaried.”
Huizenga is up for re-election in 2026, and has already declared his candidacy.
“Is he just doing that because he doesn’t want to lose his seat?” Lenzo asked. “… He could lose here, and we will try and make that happen.”
A comment form for Huizenga can be found at huizenga.house.gov/contact.
— Cassidey Kavathas is the politics and court reporter at The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at ckavathas@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @cassideykava.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: ‘Good mix of folks’: Huizenga makes surprise appearance to speak with protestors
Reporting by Cassidey Kavathas, Holland Sentinel / The Holland Sentinel
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