COLUMBUS, Ohio — Many U.S. Senate offices are facing high call volumes, leading to busy signals and full voicemail inboxes as constituents attempt to share their opinions on President Donald Trump’s appointments to his Cabinet, executive actions, and plans to reform federal operations.
A recent memo issued to Senate staff highlighted the surge in incoming calls, indicating that some individuals are struggling to connect. “The Senate is experiencing an unusually high volume of inbound calls. External callers may receive a temporary busy signal when phoning a Senate office,” the memo stated.
This increase in calls coincides with Trump and ally Elon Musk’s initiatives to downsize the federal government during the early days of Trump’s presidency. Actions being taken include shutting down agencies, implementing a temporary funding freeze, and urging personnel to resign, while Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency attempts to penetrate various departments to address perceived fraud and waste.
A widely circulated social media post encouraged detractors of these efforts to contact their representatives as frequently as six times per day. This involved making two calls to each of their two senators and two to their House member, advising against online petitions or emails. The post further promoted the use of a smartphone application designed to facilitate multiple daily calls.
Caitlin Christman, who was recently furloughed from the U.S. Agency for International Development, recounted her struggle to leave a message for her senator, Republican Ron Johnson. After four attempts over the span of five days, she finally succeeded after facing an overloaded voicemail, poor recording quality, and busy signals.
“I wanted to express my concern about the dismantling of USAID without any sort of review, and to share my thoughts on the agency’s work, which I believe has been beneficial for our nation,” she remarked, also mentioning her expectation of being laid off later in the week.
Meryl Neiman from Ohio Progressive Action Leaders and her network also faced challenges in reaching out to their senators, Republicans Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted, leading up to nationwide protests against Trump and Project 2025, which lays out a hard-right strategy for governing and societal reform.
Both senators maintain close ties with Trump’s vice president, JD Vance, and they were together just last Monday during a visit to the 2023 derailment site in East Palestine.
Numerous frustrated constituents have shared their experiences of being unable to reach their senators, particularly the Republican offices, which may be experiencing a higher volume of calls due to the party’s majority in the chamber and closer alignment with the president.
Lawmakers themselves are feeling the effects of the surge, as they strive to manage their responsibilities amidst the overwhelming influx. Senate voicemail systems have the capacity to hold roughly 1,000 messages before reaching capacity, necessitating regular clearing and organization.
In response to the situation, a spokesperson for Senator Moreno, Reagan McCarthy, reaffirmed that assisting Ohioans remains a priority for the office. “While the Senate has been dealing with an exceptionally high volume of calls, our office is committed to responding to each and every Ohioan in need of assistance and working through all requests as quickly as possible,” she stated.
