Congress is on recess this week, so the dozens of protesters outside Republican Senator Bernie Moreno's Cleveland office brought 鈥渟pring break鈥� activities 鈥� corn hole, hula hoops and chalk 鈥� to their weekly demonstration.
They call these protests "Wednesday at Bernie's," a play on the 1989 hit film "Weekend at Bernie's." This week, the group propped up an inflatable doll of Moreno, clad in swim trunks, on a beach chair.
Moreno was not at the Carl Stokes Federal Court House on Wednesday: He was in Washington, D.C.
"This is recess; He shouldn't be in D.C.," said Shaker Heights resident Ellen Frank. "He should be in Ohio this week, all over Ohio, holding town halls, meeting with people, and he's not doing that. He keeps hiding in D.C."
Frustrated constituents like Frank are urging Moreno, a former car salesman who ousted longtime Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown last fall, to host a town hall 鈥� something they say he's yet to do since he's taken office.
Nationwide, many Republicans are expected to avoid town halls during this two-week recess after several colleagues faced constituents angered by President Donald Trump's policy changes. In Iowa, Sen. Chuck Grassley was pressed by the public to stand up to Trump on issues like tariffs and executive overreach. In Georgia, officers used stun guns against two attendees at a town hall hosted by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Democrats are also facing pressure from the public at town halls, where members of Congress are being urged to take action against Trump.
"It's so sad that the Democratic majorities in Congress are not lifting a finger to stop all these awful things that are going on," said Mark Hennessey, a 79-year-old retired lawyer living in Pepper Pike, who was protesting outside Moreno's office. "It's not only these deportations, but the defunding of a lot of critical things like Social Security Administration... Congress could do something about it if they wanted to."
That's why the group says visibility and strength in numbers is important. They've been protesting weekly since Feb. 5.
"Well, Bernie isn't here. That's okay, because we're here on the street and so other people can see that there's a group of people who are protesting what is going on. It might encourage them to do likewise," Hennessey said. "It's helpful to us as a group because we can see other people who have similar views in this dark time 鈥� that's very uplifting to us."
Moreno was born in Colombia before moving to Florida as a child, where he grew up. He rose to prominence in Ohio as a luxury car salesman with his first dealership in North Olmsted in Cuyahoga County. Republican Sen. Jon Husted, the former lieutenant governor appointed in January to fill now-Vice President JD Vance's seat, does not yet have any offices in Ohio.
"We cannot lose our voice in any of this, and this, as Americans, this is what we need to do," Frank said. "We need to push back. And we will stay with this. These people have been out here in eight-degree weather in the snow, and none of us are letting go of this."
Moreno did not respond to a request for comment.
