Amid 'Illegal' USAID Takeover, Dems Say There's No 'Fourth Branch of Government Called Elon Musk'
"Just like he didn't create USAID, he's not gonna destroy it," said Rep. Jamie Raskin
"Just like he didn't create USAID, he's not gonna destroy it," said Rep. Jamie Raskin
Employees and supporters protest outside the headquarters for United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on February 3, 2025, after Elon Musk posted on social media that he and President Donald Trump would shut down the agency.
(Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
Julia Conley
Feb 03, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
Several Democratic members of Congress were denied entry to the headquarters of the United States Agency for International Development on Monday, after giving a press conference on the attempted takeover of USAID by President Donald Trump and his adviser, billionaire businessman Elon Musk.
Federal law enforcement officers blocked the delegation, including Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), from entering the offices. Beyer later said the moves were "illegal and corrupt and we will keep fighting it."
The Democrats had just finished speaking about the events of this past weekend, when employees of the Department of Government Efficiency( DOGE), the advisory body Trump appointed Musk to lead, demanded that security officials at USAID hand over confidential files. The officials were placed on administrative leave when they refused, along with dozens of other senior federal workers at the agency.
On Monday, as the Democratic delegation prepared to respond to the Trump administration's actions, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he was now the acting director of USAID, which assists with disaster recovery, poverty alleviation, and other foreign aid operations.
The Democrats had a simple message at the press conference, where more than 100 demonstrators gathered holding signs reading, "USAID Must Be Saved" and "Today USAID. What's Next?" The agency was created by an act of Congress in 1961, when the Foreign Assistance Act was passed, and only Congress can dismantle it.
"Elon Musk, you didn't create USAID, the U.S. Congress did for the American people," said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) "And just like he didn't create USAID, he's not gonna destroy it."
"Just like the president... cannot impound the money of the people," added Raskin, "we don't have a fourth branch of government called Elon Musk, and that's going to become real clear."
The members of Congress were refused entry to the agency headquarters after staffers were advised on Monday morning to stay out of the building, where yellow police tape blocked the lobby.
As Common Dreamsreported, Musk said Monday that he had checked with President Donald Trump "a few times" about the future of USAID, and the president allegedly directed him to shut it down.
Raskin condemned "murmurings of support for this outrageous, scandalous, illegal maneuver" that he said he had heard from some Republican colleagues, with supporters saying the administration is simply "evaluating" the agency's work.
"I've heard from multiple constituents working in USAID that they have removed all evaluations from the USAID website," said Raskin. "This has nothing to do with evaluations, this is about termination and obliteration of the major foreign aid programs of the United States of America."
At a separate press briefing, Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) told reporters Monday morning that security guards at USAID had "been given specific orders to prevent employees of USAID from entering the building today."
"I went inside and tried to speak to the acting administrator [Jason] Gray," he said, referring to the official who Rubio has reportedly replaced. "Unfortunately I was not able to meet with him, and I'm going to continue to try... I want to hear straight from him, are these the orders that he gave? ...This is no way to govern, this is no way to treat public servants, and this is no way for us to conduct foreign policy as a country."
Before attempting to enter USAID, Beyer said Musk's takeover of the agency is "a case of the very worst among us attacking the best of us," noting that agency employees work to prevent the spread of infectious disease around the world and in the U.S., among other foreign aid missions.
"What Trump and Musk have done is not only wrong, it is illegal," said Beyer. "Stopping this will require action by the courts and Republicans to show up and show courage and stand up for our country."
"I'm urging my fellow Democrats to use every legislative tool we have at our disposal to slow down and stop this crime from succeeding," he added.
After being blocked from entering USAID, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) toldThe New York Times that the lawmakers were working to secure an injunction to block Musk's order to keep the offices closed.
With Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress, the Democrats' path to fighting Musk and Trump over USAID is likely through the court system. Last week, the Office of Management and Budget's order for all federal grants and loans to be frozen was temporarily blocked by two federal judges.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), also part of the delegation that went to USAID, emphasized that the takeover was "a bluff."
"They are counting on some sense of inevitability," he said. "It is a harmful killer bluff, but they don't have the law on their side, and so every civil servant, every contractor, every individual who is scared, stand in solidarity with each other."
U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) speaks outside the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) building, after billionaire Elon Musk, who is heading U.S. President Donald Trump's drive to shrink the federal government, said work is underway to shut down the U.S. foreign aid agency USAID, in Washington, U.S., February 3, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura
THE NEW CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
February 04, 2025
Democratic members of the U.S. House and Senate were reportedly blocked on Monday from entering the Washington, D.C. offices of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), an independent agency of the U.S. government, which Congress established by law in 1961.
Elon Musk and his associates from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have reportedly been trying to shut the agency down, at one point even declaring, “USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die.” According to multiple sources and experts, only Congress can eliminate a government agency it created, including this one.
“So you are aware, this agency is very busy currently, and they are not able to take a meeting currently,” an unidentified person who appeared to be speaking for USAID told members of Congress and others who tried to enter the agency’s offices, an Associated Press video shows. “They advised that they will be in contact shortly, and that best to contact the Department of State at this time if you need any further comments.”
The AP also reported that USAID staffers “were instructed to stay out of the agency’s Washington headquarters, and officers blocked the lawmakers from entering the lobby Monday, after Musk announced President Donald Trump had agreed with him to shut the agency.”
Some experts say that the president does not have legal authority to do so.
“The fast moving developments,” the AP added, “show the extraordinary power of Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency in the Trump administration. Musk announced closing of the agency early Monday, as Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, was out of the country on a trip to Central America.”
Secretary Rubio announced that USAID would be folded into the U.S. Department of State, a move that is likely to be challenged in court.
“Democratic lawmakers gathered outside the agency building for a rally and press conference and gave the most forceful pushback since Trump took office last month. They said they expected a flurry of lawsuits to be issued in the coming days against the Trump administration,” the AP also reported.
Preventing duly elected members of Congress from accessing a federal government office was met with frustration and disapproval.
“Our delegation seeking to do congressional oversight on reports of Elon Musk’s illegal activity at USAID was just barred from entering the building on the orders of Musk and the Trump Administration. Nobody elected Musk — this is illegal and corrupt and we will keep fighting it,” declared U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA).
Aaron Fritschner, Congressman Beyer’s deputy chief of staff, posted a photo (below) of their attempt to enter and wrote: “USAID is one of the most cost-effective agencies we have. Their money goes 10-20 times as far as DOD money to project US influence, including vs China. They fight terrorism, hunger, and diseases like Ebola and bird flu. Rich guys are playing us for suckers.”
“Hollywood could not have written a crueler script,” commented Brett Bruen, former Obama White House Director of Global Engagement. “The world’s richest man cuts off lifesaving food & medicine to the world’s poorest.”
READ MORE: ‘Check Out Schoolhouse Rock’: JD Vance Schooled on How Government Works
U.S. Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) explained that his first job in government was at USAID. “Now seeing the security guards there, instructed to ban and bar USAID employees from getting in today, is absolutely shameful.”
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) passionately defended USAID, declaring that it “fights terrorist groups all across this world, making sure that we address the underlying causes for a retreat to terrorism. USAID chases China all around the world, making sure that China doesn’t monopolize contracts for critical minerals and port infrastructure all around the world. It supports freedom fighters everywhere in this world, up until yesterday, delivering firewood, for instance, to the brave Ukrainian defenders on the eastern front.”
U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) vowed to fight “every way we can.”
USAID “is the lead development agency in the world and no one elected Elon Musk to dismantle it,” Congressman Connolly declared. “We are gonna fight in every way we can. In the courts, in public opinion with the bully pulpit in the halls of Congress and here at USAID itself, we are not going to let this injustice happen.”
“It’s a matter for Congress to deal with not an unelected billionaire oligarch than Elon Musk. And Elon, if you wanna run AD, get nominated by Trump and go to the Senate and good luck in getting confirmed.”
U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), a former constitutional law professor, blasted Musk.
“Elon Musk, you didn’t create USAID, the United States Congress did for the American people. And just like Elon Musk did not create USAID, he doesn’t have the power to destroy it,” Raskin loudly declared, vowing Congress will “stop him.”
“Elon Musk, you may have illegally seized power over the financial payment systems of the United States Department of Treasury, but you don’t control the money of the American people, the United States Congress does that, under Article One of the Constitution. And just like the president who is elected to something, cannot impound the money of the people, we don’t have a fourth branch of government called Elon Musk, and that’s gonna become real clear.”
“This is real life, this is serious, and this is dangerous,” warned Rep. John Olszewski (D-MD). He told supporters that Democrats in Congress will do all they can, but they need Americans to act.
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