'Witness protection program?' House Republican bristles on MSNBC over party going AWOL

MSNBC host Alex Witt questioned a GOP congressman about whether it's true he's gone into "legislative witness protection" to dodge constituents amid the government shutdown.

Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) lashed out after being asked about comments from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Friday morning.

Speaking to the press, Jeffries blamed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for keeping his members away from Washington. Johnson announced the congressional break would begin a week early in June for the "summer recess."

"No one can find them here in the Capitol, and no one can find them in their districts. They're not holding town hall meetings. They're not visiting federal employees. They're not engaging with their constituents. They've been on vacation for three weeks," the Democratic leader said.

While some in the GOP caucus leadership remained in Washington, many have been in their districts.

Johnson, along with the rest of his delegation, Sen. John Thune (R-SD), and Mike Rounds (R-SD), were criticized in March after refusing to hold in-person town hall meetings. Johnson explained that Jeffries is falsely claiming that members aren't speaking to constituents because he had a telephone event where people could call in.

Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) faced criticism from naysayers after hosting a live-streamed event on Facebook. Several people reported that they signed up for the tele-town hall but never received a response from his office or the call-in information. Some alleged that the calls were screened.

In August, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) hosted an event where her team asked attendees to leave if they weren't supporters of Mace and Trump. One Trump voter was even jeered by her fellow voters because she didn't clap at Mace's comments.

Johnson said that his tele-town hall was hosted while he was in Washington, D.C. He claimed he's tried to speak to Democrats, but they've been "more interested in political theater."