'Who's our leader?' In California, Rep. Sara Jacobs faces hundreds of residents eager to oppose Trump

Kristen Taketa, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Apr 23, 2025

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About 300 people packed U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs’ town hall this week in El Cajon, California, many looking for answers and reassurance from the Democratic congresswoman about how to push back against President Trump’s agenda.

Constituents wanted to know: What can we realistically do to fight Trump administration policies? Are recent protests actually working? Will any Republicans in Congress stand up against Trump?

“Who’s our leader? We are marching, we are writing postcards, we are knocking on doors, we are making phone calls, and we feel defeated,” Annemarie Sundquist, a Jamul resident and leader of a local advocacy group, asked Jacobs during the Tuesday event. “We’re looking for a leader who’s going to fight for us and lead us and tell us what we need to do to keep fighting, to keep moving. Are you a leader?”

Three months into Trump’s second term, the crowd reflected frustrations and energy that have animated residents at other local lawmakers’ town halls, mobilized thousands to protest and drawn outrage and fear over what federal funding cuts could mean for local workers, health benefits, research and more.

Many attendees wanted to know: What specifically can they do right now to stop Trump?

“I’m tired of donating, because all I do is donate and then they ask for another $15,” said Mark Offman, a La Mesa resident who said he donates to the ACLU.

Jacobs assured constituents that public pressure was getting Congress’ attention and encouraged them to share with elected officials the “real human impacts” of proposed cuts to programs like Medicaid or Head Start.

Jacobs said Republican colleagues have shared concerns privately with her about what Trump is doing and pointed out that this week, a Nebraska congressman became the first Republican lawmaker to publicly call for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s firing.

“The more that we can help make sure that our Republican colleagues are hearing about the real human impact, and not only sort of hearing from their constituents who are, in some cases, actually happy with what’s happening,” Jacobs said, “I think we’re going to start to see more of them stand up.”

One concrete action Jacobs recommended: File a Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, request for all the information that the Elon Musk-led team known as the Department of Government Efficiency has about you.

Jacobs said she and her colleagues have not been able to get much information about the team’s criteria in deciding which programs to slash, or what data it keeps about constituents.

“After you find out what information they have about you, please let us know,” Jacobs said.

Some constituents asked Jacobs what it would take to pass legislation she introduced this month to prohibit any federal money from being used to fund DOGE’s activities. Jacobs said she has multiple Democrats on board but needs at least three Republicans and has none so far.

Out of the more than 20 people who asked questions, two said they disagreed with Jacobs, and both voiced concern about what they called excessive government spending.

“Government spending is a driver of inflation, so why wouldn’t we want to discover waste, fraud and abuse and eliminate it?” speaker Allyson Smith, an El Cajon Republican, said of DOGE as some audience members groaned.

Jacobs disagreed that DOGE is focused on efficiency and said that more government spending is good when it’s for things that have a high return on investment, such as early childhood education and preventive medical care.

The issue is not government spending itself but what the government chooses to spend on, she said. Although congressional Republicans’ proposed budget would slash many programs, it also calls for a $100 billion boost in defense spending over the next decade and another $90 billion for the Homeland Security Department, on top of trillions in tax cuts.

“To me, that goes to show that actually, this effort isn’t really about making government more efficient for everyone. It’s about finding some savings so that they can pay for tax cuts for people who don’t need tax cuts,” Jacobs said.

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