U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Michigan hosted a town hall at Oakland University Saturday afternoon to address actions being taken by the Trump administration.
The recital hall at Oakland University was packed with Michiganders who shared questions and concerns with Stevens.
She was joined by a panel that included Michigan State Senator Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, Oakland County Commissioner Brendan Johnson and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
“There’s a lot of fear and concern about what’s happening in our government right now, in part because Donald Trump, our president, is doing a lot of executive orders, and it feels and likely, in some cases, is outside the bounds of our Constitution,” Stevens said.
The first question asked resonated with others at the meeting: What’s being done to protect our private information from being accessed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk?
“They don’t have the authority to do anything they’re doing. We want them to stop firing workers, Nessel said. “We want you to rehire the workers that have been fired, and we want them to reimplement all of those contracts and those grants, and by the way, no more downloading private information onto an unsecured server.”
Nessel outlined the various lawsuits she has filed against Trump’s executive orders and Musk.
Stevens discussed a bill that would prevent the task force from accessing the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s payment system without a security clearance. The system distributes Social Security, Medicare, and other federal payments and contains Americans’ sensitive financial data.
While there were signs of support from the crowd, there was also some tension.
“There are thousands of us that are ready to pour into the streets. She’s one person in the body. She’s listening to her constituents right now. We need her more active. We need her outside of the room,” Paula Mante of Royal Oak said.
Some said after the town hall that lawsuits and legislation are fine, but it’s not enough.
“We want to see her maybe get with us and be out and protest, to get arrested with us,” Faith Allen of Hazel Park said.
Stevens promised her constituents she’s not backing down.
“I want every single person to know that their voice, their expressions, their fears, their hopes will be heard by me and my staff and my office. We are working really hard for you, not only as an elected official, but as a steward of this government. So please continue to use your voice. Please continue to reach out,” Stevens said.
CBS News Detroit has reached out to the Michigan Republican Party for a response to the claims but has not heard back.
DOGE is not a government department, but a task force established by Mr. Trump to find ways to cut federal spending.
