Democratic Central Coast Congressman Jimmy Panetta visited Cambria for a town hall speech and Q&A to address his constituents questions and concerns about what is going on in Congress during the first months of the Trump administration. By Chloe Shrager| The Tribune| Chloe Shrager
Hundreds of people squeezed into the Cambria Veterans Hall on Thursday afternoon to hear Democratic Congressman Jimmy Panetta speak at a town hall, addressing his constituents’ questions and concerns about what has been going on in Congress during the first months of the Trump administration.
The room was packed wall-to-wall, reaching maximum capacity of 250 people before the town hall began. Attendees overflowed into the hallways and poked their heads through windows, trying to get a glimpse of Rep. Panetta’s speech.
“Our Constitution is being challenged like in no other time,” Panetta told the crowd.
Over the hour-long speech and Q&A session, Panetta fact-checked disinformation coming from the federal government, addressed the government job cuts happening nationwide and told his constituents how he is working to defend democracy in Congress.
The congressman called Elon Musk — the unelected head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency responsible for slashing jobs and federal grants — an “absolute bully.”
A packed house, including people watching through the windows, listen as Congressman Jimmy Panetta, D-Santa Cruz, gives a town hall speech at the Cambria Veterans Hall on March 21, 2025, to address his constituents questions and concerns about what is going on in Congress during the first months of the Trump administration. Chloe Shrager cshrager@thetribunenews.com
“This administration is allowing Elon Musk and DOGE to overhaul Social Security using the guise of stopping waste, fraud and abuse,” Panetta said.
“I think we can all agree that Social Security and many of our government agencies — especially at the federal level — can be improved,” Panetta said. “We acknowledge that there’s waste, there’s fraud and there’s abuse, but it needs to be reformed in a way that’s careful, that’s surgical, that’s thoughtful.”
Panetta called out Musk for his lack of transparency about government cuts.
“There needs to be a plan, not a sledgehammer, not a chainsaw, not a wood chipper, as to how you do it,” Panetta said as the audience erupted into applause.
Congressman Jimmy Panetta, D-Santa Cruz, gave a town hall speech at the Cambria Veterans Hall on March 21, 2025, to address his constituents questions and concerns about what is going on in Congress during the first months of the Trump administration. Chloe Shrager cshrager@thetribunenews.com
Rep. Jimmy Panetta says Congress works, but the courts work harder
During his town hall address, Panetta explained five strategies Washington Democrats are using to push back against Trump administration actions: legislation, investigation, litigation, communication and mobilization.
Panetta has introduced a number of quick-action bills in Congress, including legislation to preventing government access to taxpayer data, ensuring DOGE is subject to the Freedom of Information Act, prohibiting the use of funds to aid the elimination of the U.S. Agency for International Development, preventing the Social Security Administration from shutting down and more.
The NATO Edge Act, also introduced by Panetta, would reaffirm the United States’ ironclad commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and prevent any administration from unilaterally withdrawing from the alliance that dates to the years after World War II.
He also commented on his most recent visit to Washington, where he voted against the Republican budget bill that will fund the government for the next six months.
The bill passed on March 14 and is expected to cut $880 billion from Medicaid, despite support for the program being a bipartisan issue, Panetta said.
“People in my district rely on Medicaid, but people in Republican districts rely on Medicaid,” he said.
Congressman Jimmy Panetta, D-Santa Cruz, answers questions after giving a town hall speech at the Cambria Veterans Hall on March 21, 2025, to address his constituents questions and concerns about what is going on in Congress during the first months of the Trump administration. Chloe Shrager cshrager@thetribunenews.com
However, while Democrats are in the minority in both the House and the Senate, the reality is that getting any legislation through Congress will be near impossible. Instead, what Panetta wants his constituents to focus on is the courts.
“The courts are standing firm,” he told The Tribune after his address. “That’s the bullwark right now. ... It’s making sure that our courts are strong.”
Panetta said there are around 148 ongoing federal court cases against the Trump administration right now, ranging from efforts to stop the federal funding freeze to blocking the ban on gender-affirming care, many of which he had an optimistic outlook on.
“We are winning in the courts,” he said in his speech. “ ... Our courts are flexing their muscles.”
He acknowledged, however, that these legal fights are still an uphill battle.
“The fact is, is that when you have an executive administration that has administered 89 executive orders already, not including the one today, 72 within the first month, the Congress and the courts just don’t act as fast as that. We admit that they want to flood the zone,” Panetta said. “They’re overwhelming us with these types of decisions, and I admit it’s put us on our heels.”
Congressman Jimmy Panetta, D-Santa Cruz, gives a town hall speech at the Cambria Veterans Hall on March 21, 2025, to address his constituents questions and concerns about what is going on in Congress during the first months of the Trump administration. Chloe Shrager cshrager@thetribunenews.com
Panetta has hope in a bipartisan democracy
At his address on Thursday, Panetta acknowledged that “people are understandably fearful of losing our democracy right now,” but he said his colleagues in Congress give him hope for the future.
“We need Congress to understand that they take an oath to the Constitution, not to the president,” Panetta said.
In order to do so, he said, Democrats need to fix their messaging to take back the House and Senate in the 2026 midterms.
“When we are in the power to govern, we govern, and we govern in a bipartisan way to help working families, to strengthen our national security and strengthen democracy,” Panetta told The Tribune after his speech.
Panetta left his constituents and audience with a vow on Friday: “Despite all the chaos that is going on, I promise you, I will not get distracted.”
Democratic Central Coast Congressman Jimmy Panetta gave a town hall speech to a full Cambria Vets Hall on March 21, 2025, to address his constituents questions and concerns about what is going on in Congress during the first months of the Trump Administration Chloe Shrager cshrager@thetribunenews.com
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Chloe Shrager is the county government reporter for The Tribune. She grew up in Palo Alto, California, and graduated from Stanford with a B.A. in Political Science. When not writing, she enjoys surfing, camping, exploring the outdoors and hanging out with her cat, Billy Goat.