Florida GOP Chairman Evan Power responded to a report showing Democrats in Pinellas County gathering people at a town hall to protest against the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as "manufactured noise" on Monday.
Evan Power also defended Florida Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, who represents Pinellas County. Paulina Luna was not at the event hosted by the Florida Democratic Party.
“Just more manufactured noise. The people overwhelmingly re-elected Congresswoman Luna," Power said. "If only the Florida Democrats were as concerned when an autopen machine was running the country as they are now that an administration is delivering on the promises they made while getting elected."
National Democrats have called out Paulina Luna for not attending town halls in her district.
The event featured former Pinellas County Republican David Jolly and California Congressman Eric Swalwell. Jolly left the Republican Party in 2018.
"There's a political movement growing right now in response to a lot of the controversy that people feel coming out of Washington D.C., not exactly partisan," Jolly said to WFLA in Tampa. "Certainly this event has been organized by the state Democratic Party but we're seeing people who are Independents, who are soft Republicans if you want to call them that."
Paulina Luna was reelected in Congressional District 13 by nearly 10 points over Democratic candidate Whitney Fox last November. She also defeated her Democratic opponent by a similar margin in 2022.
Democrats could be attacking Luna based on the unpopularity of DOGE under the Trump administration by the left and Pinellas County's swing over the last two election cycles. Luna is a Trump ally and has been endorsed by him in her election races.
The county flipped President Trump's way in 2024 after going with former President Joe Biden in 2020.
