HOLLAND — Ottawa County residents are continuing to vocalize their dissent over President Donald J. Trump’s policies and executive orders — and members of Congress who support him.

On Monday, Feb. 17, a group of nearly 100 staged a protest in Holland, part of a nationwide effort this week protesting the Trump Administration’s push to gut federal health, education and human services agencies — as well as billionaire Elon Musk’s influence on drastic cuts.

The protests targeted congressional offices and Tesla dealerships — Musk is the CEO of the automotive company — with organizers hoping to send a pointed message to members of Congress who are on recess this week.

The backlash still hasn’t approached the intensity of protests during and after Trump’s first inauguration eight years ago. But a loose coalition of Democrats and progressives is coalescing around Musk’s rise as Trump’s top lieutenant and his purge of the federal bureaucracy, the Associated Press reported Monday.

The group, which met at Holland’s Hope Church just before noon on Monday, marched to River Avenue in front of Holland City Hall, then marched back and forth on the River Avenue sidewalk for nearly an hour chanting, singing and waving signs.

The protesters then marched to Michigan’s Fourth Congressional District representative, Bill Huizenga’s Holland office.

Holland resident Jo Bird said she and other constituents have attempted to meet with Huizenga over the past few weeks, but have not succeeded.

“Many of us have visited that office in the past few weeks and have never been granted a meeting with an aide to discuss Huizenga's refusal to hold an in-person town hall meeting,” Bird said in a Monday statement to ONN. “Many of us want to know why (Huizenga) will not uphold the U.S. Constitution to which he swore an oath.”

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Bird said she went to Huizenga’s Holland office on the morning of Feb. 7 and, despite there being no other constituents that day, “they were too busy to meet with us.”

“In fact, they told us to go home and make an appointment on the Washington, D.C., website,” she said. “At the address I was given, no such appointment was possible. I called the office and was thus given another email address. No word has come yet about an appointment.”

Melanie Scholten, political organizer for the Ottawa County Democrats, said Huizenga needs to be held accountable for not keeping Trump’s executive wing in check.

“The Constitution gives Congress a lot of power, and important power,” she said. “They determine spending, they write laws, they determine which agencies to start or disband. But right now, Congress seems to be completely abdicating its power and it is putting us in the midst of a Constitutional crisis. 

If you go

To contact U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga:

Visit: 170 College Ave., Ste. 160
Holland, MI  49423
Call: 616-251-6741
Send an email: tinyurl.com/2v636ps7

To sign up for protest notifications, email poliorg@ottawadems.com.

“Bill Huizenga has not held an in-person town hall since 2018 — over six years ago — and it's time for him to meet his constituents face to face and explain what he is doing to regain Congressional power.”

Protester James Cook said Monday's cold and snowy conditions would not prevent him from having his voice heard.

"It's impossible for me to look in the mirror at a silent American patriot," Cook said. "Silence is complicity, and I cannot betray my core values. It would have been too easy to stay warm at home, but we all need to step up and do what we can — peacefully."

ONN emailed Huizenga's office on Monday evening requesting comment.

Scholten encouraged fellow residents to contact her at poliorg@ottawadems.com, as the group plans to continue daily protests for the duration of the week.

— Sarah Leach is the executive editor of the Ottawa News Network. Contact her at sleach@ottawanewsnetwork.org. Follow her on Twitter @ONNLeach.