Democrats Attempt to Oppose Musk and Trump Through Bills, Subpoenas, Filibusters

On Wednesday, Democratic lawmakers attempted to block recent actions by President Donald Trump, taking particular aim at his move to allow billionaire campaign benefactor Elon Musk to rip through federal departments and agencies, with full access to several payment systems and the personal data of millions of Americans.

Critics have described the billionaire’s actions as akin to a “coup,” as Musk is now seemingly in charge of all agencies, deciding which should continue to run, which employees should be fired or offered questionable buyouts, freezing up payments that should be going to programs across the U.S. and internationally, and more — all of which is likely illegal, observers and some in the administration have noted.

Musk is leading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a federal role that only exists through a decree Trump made last month. During a House Oversight Committee hearing on Wednesday, ranking member Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Virginia) described Musk’s position as “puzzling,” and called for him to be subpoenaed by the panel in order to answer questions about his work.

“Who is this unelected billionaire that he can attempt to dismantle federal agencies, fire people, transfer them, offer them early retirement and have sweeping changes to federal agencies without having any congressional review?” Connolly said during the hearing.

The measure was blocked in a party-line vote, with all 20 Republicans voting “no” and all 19 Democratic members of the committee voting “yes.”

Also on Wednesday, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisconsin) introduced a bill that seeks to limit who can become a “special government employee” within the federal government, a title that the Trump White House has granted to Musk. Under Pocan’s proposal, no person with that designation would be allowed to have contracts with the federal government — meaning that Musk, who has billions of dollars in government contracts through his various companies, would either have to end those agreements or step down from his role as head of DOGE.

The bill would strengthen already existing rules for special government employees regarding conflicts of interest — rules that Musk currently appears to be flouting.

“No one should have the ability to direct funds towards their personal interest if they are working for the federal government. That’s why we don’t allow Members of Congress or many other federal employees to receive federal contracts,” Pocan said in a statement announcing the bill. “The same is even more true with a special government employee with wide authority to direct federal expenses.”

Pocan added:

No government employee, ‘Special’ or not, should have any financial interest in who the government does business with. Elon Musk is the poster child for this type of potential abuse. After more than $20 billion in federal contracts, there’s no way Musk can be objective in what he’s doing.

With the House of Representatives currently controlled by Republicans, however, Pocan’s measure faces steep odds of consideration or advancement.

In the other congressional chamber, Senate Democrats on Wednesday led an all-night marathon of speeches, speaking out against the confirmation of Russell Vought, Trump’s former head of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to lead that agency once more. Vought is an ardent Trump loyalist who authored a portion of Project 2025, and became the right-wing policy roadmap’s main promoter after Trump tried to distance himself from the document during his presidential campaign.

“Of all the harmful nominees, of all the extremists that Donald Trump has elevated, of all the hard-right ideologues who have come before the Senate, none of them hold a candle to Russell Vought. He is far and away the most dangerous to the American people,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) said in his remarks.

Senate Democrats continued their speeches throughThursday morning, likely delaying a vote for Vought until later that day. With 53 Republicans in the Senate, Vought will be confirmed unless four GOP lawmakers side with every Democratic senator against him.

The moves from Democratic lawmakers come as polling shows that Democratic voters (and independents who tend to support Democrats) are currently unsatisfied with the lack of action from the party. According to an Economist/YouGov poll published this week, only a fifth of those voters (20 percent) believes that Democratic lawmakers are taking appropriate action to oppose Trump’s agenda so far, while more than three times that number (61 percent) thinks that Democrats aren’t doing enough.

Several thousand demonstrators took part in protests against the Trump administration in cities across the U.S. on Wednesday, voicing their disdain for the president’s attacks on transgender rights and his dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs within the federal government. Protesters also condemned Trump for allowing Musk to have access to government data while furloughing workers associated with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

In Washington, D.C., protesters held up signs reading “USAID Saves Lives,” and chanted “Elon Musk Has to Go,” among other slogans, NPR reported.

Demonstrators in other parts of the country have signaled their support for immigrants in the U.S. as Trump has embarked on an anti-immigrant crackdown across the country.

“My family and my friends that have immigrated here belong here,” said Rita Teniente, a nurse who attended a protest in Madison, Wisconsin, noting that her own parents were immigrants. “We feel that we belong here, that we are part of American cloth and that we deserve the same rights.”

Dennis Garcia, a protester in Houston, Texas, said he was outraged by the administration’s decision to enact ICE raids in “sensitive locations” — places like schools, churches and hospitals — to detain and ultimately deport people in massive numbers.

“Todos los Latinos. We shouldn’t divide each other. We should stick together,” Garcia said. “That’s what this protest is about. That we’re all here, and we’re not going to let them bully us anymore.”

Catie Miglietti, a demonstrator in Lansing, Michigan, said she decided to protest in order to show her vehement disagreement with Musk having access to data from the Treasury Department and other agencies.

“If we don’t stop it and get Congress to do something, it’s an attack on democracy,” Miglietti said.