GOP senator hosting town hall for audience of 54

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) will hold a televised town hall with just 54 people next Thursday. The senator is under pressure to take questions from constituents. 

The town hall, which will be held in the city of Bethlehem, will seat 30 general admission attendees and 24 seats will be reserved for Lehigh Valley Democratic and Republican groups, Toomey’s staff and the local PBS station airing the event told Philly.com on Friday.

{mosads}“Since joining the Senate in 2011, I have participated in more than 70 town halls and other public forums so that I can engage directly with my constituents on the issues being considered by the Senate and that matter the most to them,” Toomey said in a statement to the television station. 

The town hall comes during a summer when controversial topics often overtake town halls held by other Republican members of Congress. Lawmakers have been subject to impromptu questions regarding President Trump and healthcare. 

Other lawmakers have taken heat for not holding town halls while home in their districts. 

The GOP-led Senate failed last month to fulfill a seven year campaign promise to repeal and replace ObamaCare, a topic that will likely come up at Toomey’s event.