Bob Jordan

Asbury Park (N.J.) Press

ASBURY PARK, N.J. — Add a New Jersey lawmaker to a growing list of House Republicans not interested in holding town halls and the risk of disruptions by anti-Trump and pro-Obamacare protesters.

Rep. Tom MacArthur says his town hall schedule is on hold because he doesn’t “want to be baited into having an event that some outside group can just make a spectacle out of." Instead, MacArthur held a one-hour telephone town hall Monday, where constituents were invited to call in their questions.

Survey: Members of Congress care what you have to say more than you think

Town halls by GOP lawmakers have heated up since President Trump’s inauguration last month. It’s also the first time there’s been Republican majorities in the House and the Senate in more 10 years.

While the majority of calls during the town hall were supportive, MacArthur fielded several questions that challenged the Trump administration’s views on border security, health care and other issues.

MacArthur represents the 3rd District, which includes Toms River, Brick, Berkeley, Lacey, Barnegat, Ocean Township (Waretown), and part of Stafford in Ocean County, and most of Burlington County.

MacArthur was New Jersey's lone Republican to say no when the House last month overwhelmingly voted to start in motion the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

“I voted no because, even though I believe we have to replace Obamacare, I don’t think we have to do it instantly and I think we’re going a little too fast," he said in response to a question.

He said he has supported Trump's executive order on immigration and disagreed when a caller suggested it was a "Muslim ban.''

“I don’t support a Muslim ban. There are nearly 50 Muslim-majority countries in the world and this travel freeze, which is temporary, only affects seven nations, not because they’re Muslim nations, but because they’re highly volatile security threats," he said.

“This executive order in my mind is about safety for the American people, period. If it was a broad Muslim ban, I would not support it."

Some members of Congress keep angry public at phone line's distance

During the telephone town hall, MacArthur alleged that colleagues had their events disrupted as “hundreds of people have been bused in and have been organized and in some cases have even been paid to disrupt and to steal your voice."

“I think you have to realize what’s going on all over the country. Public town hall events are being hijacked by groups that are outside of the district that (the) member represents. You’ve seen them on TV," he said.

MacArthur didn’t offer evidence that protesters are paid and bused. Spokeswoman Camille Gallo said MacArthur "was simply referring to reports that he had read about outside groups attending congressional town halls.''

"There is no doubt that special interest groups have been hijacking these forums with the intent to completely disrupt productive events and preventing local constituents from interacting with their congressman,'' Gallo said.

New York Rep. Chris Collins and Illinois Rep. Peter Roskam, both Republicans, earlier on Monday also said they don’t have plans to do any in-person town halls because of the current hostile climate.

House Republicans during a closed-door meeting last week discussed how to protect themselves and their staffs from protesters storming town halls and offices in opposition to repealing Obamacare, according to a report by Politico.

Last week Rep. Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House oversight committee, faced sharp questions and fierce pushback from many in a crowd of 1,000 inside a high school auditorium — with another 1,500 people outside because they couldn't get in, according to the Salt Lake Tribune — with attendees saying they were frustrated by the Utah Republican's refusal to investigate Trump's potential conflicts of interest.

Chaffetz said he was the focus of a coordinated national effort and that paid operatives were brought into Utah to help inflame opponents. He said the same thing is happening at town halls across the country but also offered no evidence.

That was Thursday, the same day Reps. Justin Amash, R-Mich., House Budget Committee Chairwoman Diane Black, R-Tenn., also ran into hostile crowds at district events. Video of a teacher defending the Affordable Care Act at Black's event went viral.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer has asserted that Trump protests are "not these organic uprisings that we've seen over the last several decades. The tea party was a very organic movement. This has become a paid Astroturf-type movement."

Follow Bob Jordan on Twitter: @BobJordanAPP