A group waving homemade signs arrived on Wichita State’s Innovation Campus Monday to protest U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican. Moran was touring the National Institution for Aviation Research with Kathy Warden, the CEO of Northrop Grumman, a large aerospace company and defense contractor.
The protestors shared a variety of complaints centered around President Donald Trump’s actions during his first months in office, including federal funding and job cuts, and the administration’s stance on the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
“Trump is trying to take over,” Carol Natanson, one of the protesters, said. “He’s closing all of the departments of government just so he can have control. And he wants to be a dictator.”
Doug Ballard, a WSU alum, said he’s also concerned about federal funding cuts, and will continue to make his voice heard.
“That’s how you — if you want something to fail, even in business, you underfund it and make it overly accountable and it will self-destruct,” he said.
The crowd surrounded the entrance to one of the National Institution for Aviation Research’s buildings on campus when Moran was scheduled to arrive. When Moran did not appear, some moved to wave their signs in front of the building’s window while others headed to the sidewalk by Oliver Street.
Betsy Hallstrom, another protester, said she was there to ask Moran to “stand up and be the adult,” and use his role in the U.S. Senate to oppose some of Trump’s actions.
“If our representatives will listen to us, we would totally be in support of them, but we’re not feeling very listened to at the time,” she said.
Hallstrom cited the Ukraine-Russia war and the Department of Government Efficiency as particular causes for concern. Moran has been strongly in support of Ukrainian independence but Trump appears to have different views, getting into an argument with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and pausing aid to the country.
Moran again expressed his support for Ukraine during his visit on Monday, saying that he wants to listen to his constituents and work for agreement in a tumultuous political environment.
Moran’s visit follows Sen. Rogen Marshall’s town hall meeting in Oakley, Kansas, where he was shouted down by protesters and left the meeting amid boos.
