Angst pervades a pair of Republican town halls — one in Trump country, the other in a swing state

EVANSTON, Wyo. (AP) — In two congressional districts and vastly different political environments, two Republicans in the U.S. House were met with far different reactions at public meetings they held late last week.

Against the suggestion of their leader, House Speaker Mike Johnson, to refrain from holding public meetings with constituents, second-term Reps. Chuck Edwards and Harriet Hageman went ahead with their evening sessions.

In Asheville, North Carolina, chants of opposition greeted Edwards on Thursday as opponents hooted at almost every answer he gave and chanted outside. In Evanston, Wyoming, at the southwestern corner of a sparsely populated and heavily Republican state, it was mostly Republicans who asked probing questions of Hageman in a quieter setting.

In both cases, voters were curious about the scope and pace of action in Washington since President Donald Trump took office, if less boisterously in Wyoming than the event 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) to the southeast.

Joy Walton, a 76-year-old Republican from Evanston, had come to the meeting confused about tech billionaire Elon Musk's role in the executive branch. Trump has charged Musk with leading a broad effort to shrink the size and cost of government.

Hageman — Liz Cheney ’s successor — worked to clarify Musk’s place in the Trump administration, describing him as “a special government employee" with “a top-secret security clearance." She praised him for his work targeting foreign aid contracts at the U.S. Agency for International Development, calling the department a “monstrosity and waste of money.”

The meeting was tamer than some constituent meetings held by Republicans, who hold majorities in the House and the Senate. Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican, adjourned such a meeting this month in northwest Kansas early when constituents became vocally angry about government personnel cuts.

Still, Hageman's meeting Friday, with about 250 filling to capacity the meeting room in the restored Union Pacific Railroad roundhouse, was the liveliest event that evening in the train depot town of about 11,800 people.

Some in the audience blurted comments to Hageman, though this was not unfriendly territory for Trump. The president received 80% of the vote in Uinta County, along the Utah border, en route to carrying Wyoming with nearly 72% of voters last year.

Yet even some devout Republicans gave voice to concern about Musk's recommendations as the head of the administration's Department of Government Efficiency.

Former Wyoming Secretary of State Karl Allred, 60, said he was happy to see Trump slash “wasteful spending,” but noted that any serious reduction in federal spending needed to include the defense budget. “I guarantee we waste a lot of money there, and in every department,” Allred said regarding the military.

Even Hageman suggested Musk was going too far in targeting the U.S. Postal Service, which has agreed to assist Musk's group in its plan to cut 10,000 of the service's 640,000 workers over the next month. Wyoming would be among the states hit hardest by cuts to the country’s mail service because of its small population, Hageman said.

Edwards was walking into a far different environment. Asheville, a mid-sized urban hub surrounded by the rural hills of western North Carolina, is the seat of Buncombe County, where Trump received 36.9% of the vote last year.

Jay Carey, a 54-year-old Democrat, had said before the Thursday night constituent meeting at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, “My plan is to call him out.”

About 20 minutes into Edwards’ meeting, Carey, a retired military veteran, started to yell at the representative to “Do your job.” Carey then stood, accused Edwards of lying and used a string of expletives until police escorted him out of the auditorium.

For about 90 minutes, Edwards faced jeers, boos and pointed questions from many in the audience of 300, while another 1,000 echoed them from outside the building.

Certainly, Carey, from the Asheville area, was part of a group of Democrats who attended the meeting, though not paid protesters as Johnson suggested were behind some of the more raucous gatherings.

Carey’s home flooded with six feet of water during Hurricane Helene in September. He lost his small business and his family had to relocate from a house to a smaller apartment.

Much of Edwards’ district was ravaged by the hurricane and remains in the early rebuilding phase, even as Trump has suggested eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Edwards seemed unruffled by the often hostile reception, telling reporters afterward, "I appreciate the chance to talk about those things, even though there were some differences and some different opinions."

Still, as protesters continued to chant outside, Edwards said, “We're doing exactly what the American people sent us to Washington, D.C., to do."

Seminera reported from Asheville and Beaumont from Des Moines, Iowa.

A protester holds a sign outside a town hall holds by Rep. Chuck Edwards in Asheville, N.C. on Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., holds a town hall meeting on Friday, March 14, 2025, in Evanston, Wyo. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps)

Rep. Chuck Edwards talks during a town hall in Asheville, N.C. on Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., holds a town hall meeting on Friday, March 14, 2025, in Evanston, Wyo. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps)

Cris Hopkin, a resident of Evanston, Wyo., asks a question about election integrity as Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., holds a town hall meeting on Friday, March 14, 2025, in Evanston, Wyo. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps)

Protesters show up with signs to a town hall held by Rep. Chuck Edwards in Asheville, N.C. on Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

Resident Catherine DeVries, right, makes a comment critical of cuts to USAID as Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., in foreground, holds a town hall meeting on Friday, March 14, 2025, in Evanston, Wyo. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps)

Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., right, hugs Karl Allred, former secretary of state of Wyoming, before Hageman holds a town hall meeting on Friday, March 14, 2025, in Evanston, Wyo. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps)

A protester holds a sign outside a town hall, held by Rep. Chuck Edwards in Asheville, N.C. on Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

Rep. Chuck Edwards talks during a town hall in Asheville, N.C. on Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., talks to attendees after holding a town hall meeting on Friday, March 14, 2025, in Evanston, Wyo. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps)

KOCANI, North Macedonia (AP) — A massive fire tore through an overcrowded nightclub in North Macedonia Sunday, killing 59 people and injuring 155 in a chaotic escape during a live concert. The tragedy drew messages of support from around the world but focused national attention on corruption in the small Balkan country as authorities detained 15 people.

The pre-dawn blaze in the eastern town of Kocani left mostly young people dead and injured due to burns, smoke inhalation and a stampede in the desperate effort to reach the building's single exit, officials said. People as young as 16 were among the injured, they said.

Videos showed sparkling pyrotechnics on the stage hitting the ceiling followed by scenes of chaos inside the club, with young people running through the smoke as the musicians urged them to escape as quickly as possible.

“We even tried to get out through the toilet, to find bars (on the windows),” Marija Taseva, 19, told The Associated Press, describing the fire that erupted after watching a local pop group at Club Pulse. "I somehow managed to get out. I fell down the stairs and they ran over me, trampled me. ... I barely stayed alive and could hardly breathe.” She suffered an injury to her face.

Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski said 15 people had been detained for questioning after a preliminary inspection revealed the club was operating without a proper license. He said that the number of people inside the club was at least double its official capacity of 250.

“We have grounds for suspicion that there is bribery and corruption in this case,” he told reporters without elaborating.

Condolences poured in from leaders around Europe as well as from the office of Pope Francis, who has been hospitalized for a month for double pneumonia.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also sent messages of support. “I wish those who were injured a speedy recovery. Ukraine mourns alongside our (North) Macedonian friends on this sad day,” Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X.

Health Ministry officials said the government had accepted offers of assistance from several neighboring countries, including Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Turkey, where preparations were being made to receive patients with life-threatening injuries. Paramedics from Serbia and Bulgaria also traveled to North Macedonia to help with the local effort.

Throughout Sunday, relatives gathered in front of hospitals and city offices in Kocani, some 115 kilometers (72 miles) east of the capital, Skopje, begging authorities for more information. Resident Dragi Stojanov was informed that his 21-year-old son Tomce had died in the fire.

“He was my only child. I don’t need my life anymore. ... 150 families have been devastated," he said. “Children burnt beyond recognition. There are corpses, just corpses inside (the club). ... And the bosses (of organized crime), just putting money into their pockets.”

In Skopje, officials said the injured were to hospitals around the country, many being treated for severe burns and smoke inhalation. The effort was being assisted by multiple volunteer organizations.

The fire is the worst tragedy in recent memory to befall the landlocked nation, whose population is less than 2 million, and the latest in a slew of deadly nightclub fires around the world.

President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova visited burn victims at a hospital in Skopje and spoke to parents waiting outside the building.

“It's terrible ... hard to believe how this happened,” she said, her voice halting with emotion. “We must give these young people courage to continue.”

The fire caused the roof of the single-story building to partially collapse, revealing the charred remains of wooden beams and debris. Police cordoned off the site and sent in evidence gathering teams in an operation also involving state prosecutors.

Pyrotechnics have often been the cause of deadly fires in nightclubs, including the one at the Colectiv club in Bucharest, Romania, in 2015 in which 64 people died.

Associated Press writers from across Europe contributed to this report.

A police officer inspects a nightclub in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, Sunday, March 16, 2025, following a massive fire in the nightclub early Sunday. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Police officers hold plastic bags on the site of a nightclub in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, Sunday, March 16, 2025, following a massive fire in the nightclub early Sunday. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Police officers investigate a nightclub after a massive fire in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Police officers block a road near a nightclub after a massive fire in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Police officers block a road near a nightclub after a massive fire in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

CORRECTS CITY TO SKOPJE - People wait in front of the hospital in Skopje, North Macedonia, Sunday, March 16, 2025, after a massive fire in a nightclub in the town of Kocani. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Prosecutors arrive at the scene of a massive fire in a nightclub in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

A person makes a telephone call in front of the hospital in Skopje, North Macedonia, Sunday, March 16, 2025, after a massive fire in a nightclub in the town of Kocani. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

A firefighter inspects a nightclub after a massive fire in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

CORRECTS CITY TO SKOPJE - People wait in front of the hospital in Skopje, North Macedonia, Sunday, March 16, 2025, after a massive fire in a nightclub in the town of Kocani. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Macedonian Interior Minister Pance Toskovski speaks to media after a massive fire in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Police officers investigate a nightclub after a massive fire in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Police officers investigate a nightclub after a massive fire in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

A firefighter inspects a nightclub after a massive fire in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Police officers investigate a nightclub after a massive fire in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

A firefighter inspects a nightclub after a massive fire in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Rescue workers stand in front of a club after massive fire broke out early Sunday in Kocani, North Macedonia, March 16, 2025. (Kocani TV via AP)

Rescue workers stand in front of a club after massive fire broke out early Sunday in Kocani, North Macedonia, March 16, 2025. (Kocani TV via AP)