SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KSBY) – Democrats on the Central Coast called for an emergency town hall at the Unitarian Society in Santa Barbara.
Some members of the community feel frustrated by President Donald Trump‘s executive orders.
“The new Trump administration has delivered on Donald Trump's central pledge—to be a dictator,” U.S. Congressman Salud Carbajal said.
Tariffs and deportation were some of the topics discussed at Saturday’s emergency town hall.
“Most of these executive orders that you have now come to see are illegal, unconstitutional, and just plain rhetoric,” Carbajal said.
The frustration stemmed from hundreds of people who watched the meeting.
“Trump and Musk are going to destroy the United States of America and turn it into an oligarchy,” Elizabeth Osborne, a Santa Barbara resident said. "Anyone who believes otherwise is foolish."
Carbajal talked about the changes he wants for Californians.
“This week democrats and I got together and wrote the legislation, the Taxpayer Protection Act, to protect America's sensitive information and essential benefits like social security and medicare,” Carbajal said.
Carbajal says Californians are facing challenging times living under President Trump.
“I'm going to support in every way I can," Carbajal said.
Concerns, questions, and discussions about the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) came up during the Town Hall.
"We are demanding answers and hearings,” Carbajal said. "We will not take this invasion of our privacy lying down. DOGE is a serious concern in large, partly because there is a lot we still don't know about what they're up to behind closed doors."
KSBY talked to the chairman of the Republican Party of San Luis Obispo County, Randall Jordan, to hear how he feels about DOGE.
“Someone watching these programs is very healthy even locally but, especially at the federal level,” Jordan said. "Our government is way too big and needs to be cut back."
Jordan says Trump’s reign will be exactly what the country needs.
“Every day I wake up to see what he's doing and he has done more in the last three weeks than any president in my lifetime has done,” said Jordan. "The Trump supporters want to get along and want the county to not be so divisive."
