Democrats, NGOs and USAID employees staged a protest outside the US Agency for International Development (USAID) headquarters in Washington, D.C. that was shut down by the Trump administration on Monday.
Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) tasked by President Trump to tackle government waste, instructed USAID staffers to stay away from the USAID’s headquarters and blocked lawmakers from entering the building just a few hundred feet from the White House.
Over a dozen Democrat lawmakers, including Reps. Jamie Raskin (Md.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Eugene Vindman (Va.) and Sens. Chris Murphy (Conn.) and Chris Van Hollen (Md.) stood outside the building claiming to the crowd that Trump has risked lives by cutting off much-needed “humanitarian aid” to impoverished nations.
Raskin falsely claimed that USAID was created by Congress while accusing Musk of circumventing the government’s oversight authority.
“Elon Musk, you didn’t create USAID, the United States Congress did for the American people!” Raskin declared.
Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin says that USAID was created by Congress.
— Ian Jaeger (@IanJaeger29) February 3, 2025
That’s completely false, it was created by an Executive Order signed by JFK.
pic.twitter.com/mTdk4OxJXn
“And just like Elon Musk did not create USAID, he doesn’t have the power to destroy it, and who’s going to stop him? We are!”
USAID was not created by Congress. It was established through an executive order signed by former President John F. Kennedy in 1961, aiming to use aid as a tool of diplomacy and economic development as well as counter the spread of communism during the Cold War.
Thus, as a creation of the Executive Branch, it can be argued President Trump is within his right to shutter the agency.
“We are witnessing a Constitutional crisis. We talked about Trump wanting to be a dictator on Day 1, and here we are. This is what the beginning of dictatorship looks like!” Rep. Omar asserted at the demonstration.
JUST IN: Rep. Ilhan Omar goes on an unhinged rant claiming that Trump is a dictator because he’s trying to save money and get rid of government corruption.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 3, 2025
"We talked about Trump wanting to be a dictator on day one, and here we are. This is what the beginning of dictatorship… pic.twitter.com/DbBYCXNjhD
Vindman argued shutting down USAID was a national security threat, claiming it would make America “weaker” and its adversaries “stronger.”
Rep. Eugene Vindman: I spent 25 years in the Army… and everyday we worked with our partners at USAID… we better look at tripling the military budget…[Ukraine, blah, blah, blah, Ukraine…]"
— Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) February 3, 2025
As Dems panic over USAID's shutdown, they begin to let slip what USAID really is. pic.twitter.com/SneiPjCamL
NEW: Democrats in Congress, USAID-funded NGOs, and USAID employees are currently protesting outside the recently shut-down USAID office by President Trump.
— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) February 3, 2025
They are triggered because DOGE exposed their grift. pic.twitter.com/egAIIwnZc4
🇺🇸 DEMOCRATS HOLD PROTEST AT USAID BUILDING IN DC
— Diligent Denizen 🇺🇸 (@DiligentDenizen) February 3, 2025
The democrats are literally protesting against shutting down a CIA-front organization. This shows you exactly who is owned by the deep-state.
Keep going, Elon Musk.
Keep going, Trump! 😎🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/dKNc5ABs1o
This comes after thousands of USAID employees were laid off and programs shut down in the two weeks since Trump became president.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday he would become the acting head of the USAID as the State Department works to incorporate it into the department.
“My frustrations with USAID goes back to my time in Congress. It’s a completely unresponsive agency, it’s supposed to respond to policy directives of the state department and it refuses to do so,” Rubio told reporters during a visit in El Salvador.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio just absolutely RIPPED the deep state slush fund known as USAID:
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) February 3, 2025
"I am the acting director of USAID."
"My frustrations with USAID goes back to my time in Congress. It's a completely unresponsive agency, it's supposed to respond to policy… pic.twitter.com/xKO8fmTYwS
“Every dollar we spend will be aligned with the national interest of the United States. USAID has a history of ignoring that and deciding that they’re a global charity. These are not donor dollars, these are taxpayer dollars,” he added.
DOGE revealed over the weekend that USAID spent over $40 billion in foreign aid annually, which included global DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) initiatives.
USAID spends $40B+ of taxpayer dollars to fund foreign aid:
— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) January 15, 2025
– $45mm to DEI scholarships in Burma
– $520mm for consultant-driven ESG investments in Africa
– $1.2bn in awards to undisclosed recipients
Source:https://t.co/aUqbMGSWc5
President Trump said Monday that while he liked the “concept” of foreign aid, USAID itself was full of “radical left lunatics” which left him no choice but to completely shut down the agency.
Watch the full USAID protest:
LIVE: Protest outside USAID as Trump moves to abolish the agency https://t.co/DFEZxl55HC
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 3, 2025
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