Conor Lamb and Lindsay Powell 'stand in' for Fetterman and McCormick at Swissvale town hall

More than 200 people filled a Swissvale church basement Wednesday night for a town hall featuring what organizers called two stand-ins for Pennsylvania’s U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Dave McCormick.

One of the stand-ins, former U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, told TribLive prior to taking the stage that he felt the senators have an obligation to appear at such events. Fetterman and McCormick have faced criticism for not holding in-person town halls to hear directly from constituents.

Regarding Fetterman, who defeated Lamb in the Democratic primary race for U.S. Senate in 2022, Lamb said, “A lot of people have expressed bewilderment about how he’s been voting and how he’s been conducting himself. What he should be doing is showing up in places like this and explaining it.”

Fetterman, of Braddock, has faced backlash for breaking from Democrats and showing an openness to working with Trump on certain issues, including his support for Israel and tougher immigration laws. Fetterman became the first Democratic senator to meet with Trump after he was reelected, traveling to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to do so, and is one of five Democratic senators to vote to confirm 10 of Trump’s Cabinet nominees, the most in the party.

Fetterman has said he has not abandoned his party and is not in lockstep with Trump or Republicans, despite finding common ground with them on certain issues.

“If (Fetterman) walked in here right now, I would give him the stage,” Lamb said Wednesday. “He is our elected senator, the one who should be answering questions. The fact that he’s not doing that, to me, is just not what being a senator is about.”

Lamb said McCormick “does seem to be out there a little more explaining himself,” but he added, “If he’s invited by a group (to appear at an event) where anyone can ask a question, he might not be able to make every one, but the Senate is not in session right now. There’s no real reason why he couldn’t be here right now.”

McCormick has hosted at least two telephone town halls since taking office in January.

Wednesday’s event at Pittsburgh Mennonite Church, organized by activist groups including Mondays With(out) McCormick and Indivisible Pittsburgh, also featured state Rep. Lindsay Powell, D-Lawrenceville, as a stand-in.

Nearly two dozen attendees went up to a microphone to ask questions and share their concerns about Trump administration policies, including ones they said were adversely affecting or threatening the economy, immigrants, the environment, government agencies and workers, and social programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Some also expressed concern that Congress has “rolled over” in allowing Trump to carry out his agenda, in large part through a torrent of executive orders, and about the escalating conflict between Trump and the courts.

“It is imperative that all of us in this room don’t turn away from what we’re looking at. I think it’s very easy to say, ‘You know what, I’ve gotta just turn inward,’” Powell said. “But that’s exactly what (Trump) wants, that’s exactly what this administration wants, for us to close our eyes (and) to pretend like it’s not happening and just wait another three years so we can have another crack at it.”

“If we wait too long, we might not have another crack at a democracy,” she added.

Lamb, a lawyer from Mt. Lebanon who works for the Philadelphia-based law firm Kline & Specter, also appeared at a town hall in State College in late March and spoke early this month at a Downtown Pittsburgh rally protesting Trump administration policies — fueling speculation that another political run could be in his future.

“Not at all,” he said when asked if his increased visibility was an indication that he was considering another run for office. “If called, obviously I would love to serve. I’ve done it before. But right now I think it’s important for people to be citizens, that’s it.”