Democrats flood the zone with acts of anti-Trump resistance
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Rep. Jamie Raskin and Democratic members of Congress outside the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Washington, D.C., on Feb 3. Photo: Jason C. Andrew/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Democrats are bowing to grassroots pressure and unleashing a wave of angry spectacles to show they are doing something to fight the Trump administration's stunning attempts to reshape the federal government.
Why it matters: "I think what you're hearing ... from people is: We just can't do things as usual. We can't be like, 'Oh let's let the long arc of a congressional session happen as we hope to stop Elon Musk and Donald Trump,'" a senior House Democrat told Axios.
- "That's not a thing. No one f***ing cares about that," the lawmaker said. "People want us to be doing more aggressive actions."
Driving the news: Just on Monday, Democrats unloaded a flurry of letters, press conferences and media events and outlined an array of new tactics to try to counter Trump's efforts to slash spending, shutter agencies and lay off federal officials.
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) unveiled a 10-part plan for countering Trump that includes using the federal funding process to thwart his efforts to "defund programs important to everyday Americans."
- Jeffries said Democrats will also introduce a bill to prevent Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing the Treasury Department's payment systems.
- A group of House and Senate Democrats spoke to protesters outside the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which Trump has moved to shut down. They were denied entry to the building.
- Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) said he will place "blanket holds" on Trump's State Department nominees until his efforts to shutter USAID are ended.
- Democrats on the House Oversight Committee sent Trump a letter demanding a massive trove of documents on his efforts to reconfigure and slash the federal bureaucracy.
- Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee urged chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) to probe Trump's inspector general firings.
- A trio of House Democrats from New Jersey said they made an "unannounced visit" to an ICE detention center in their state and questioned agents there.
What they're saying: "There's a lot going on — far more than most people know about from social media and newspapers," Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said of Democrats' efforts to resist Trump.
- Huffman, who leads Democrats on the Natural Resources Committee, said he is "still pushing for more, but I'm pleased with how things are revving up."
- "We're going to use every legal, political and constitutional means at our disposal to stop this reign of terror targeting congressional programs and federal workers," said House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).
- Raskin added, "You're going to see growing creative opposition everywhere."
Yes, but: Democrats are also trying to reconfigure the expectations of their furious activist base.
- "I totally understand the 'do something' voices, but often they don't know the things we already are doing. We need to do a better job showing them," said Huffman.
- "I get thousands of suggestions on social media ranging from totally infeasible and illegal things (like "lock someone up") to interesting strategies like supporting class action litigation against Musk/DOGE for messing with our private taxpayer data," Huffman said.
The bottom line: "My grandfather told me that duck hunting was a lot of fun until the ducks start firing back," said Raskin.
