I just watched the Congressional Democrats' news conference on USAID [View all]

[Wicked Blue]

Last edited Mon Feb 3, 2025, 04:48 PM - Edit history (4)

C-SPAN cut them off as they began trying to enter the USAID building.

UPDATE: The Democrats were blocked from entering the USAID building according to BBC.


Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) led the group of members of Congress and USAID employee to the doors.

One hell of a lot of great speeches.

The gist was that they would not allow an unelected oligarch like Musk to unconstitutionally shut down USAID or other federal agencies.

Only Congress has the power to do that, the speakers said, vowing to stop what they called an illegal action.

BBC has live updates on the Democrats' remarks at https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cy08dkgej8pt

BBC: Democratic lawmakers call aid shutdown illegal
published at 13:54

We've just heard from a number of Democratic Party lawmakers. Here's a recap of some of the main points from the press conference:

Democrats pushed back at Trump's attempts to shutter the US government's main international aid department, calling the moves illegal
They also took aim at Elon Musk who appears to be leading the charge - one lawmaker called him an "unelected billionaire oligarch"
The Democrats have emphasised the agency's life-saving aid work but have also raised national security concerns and geopolitics - noting that money from USAID goes to guarding Islamic State prisoners, and that US rivals are celebrating the turmoil
The lawmakers contend that the shutdown of the agency is against the law and that changes can only be made after debate in Congress