Democratic lawmakers are considering putting up potential roadblocks to President Donald Trump’s agenda in light of the president’s decision to dismantle a government agency he says engages in “radical” left-wing activism.
Trump and Department of Government Efficiency chair Elon Musk moved Monday to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and fold it into the State Department. This, following the president saying USAID funds programs “are not aligned with the core interests of the United States.” Democratic lawmakers have cast the administration’s attempted USAID merger with the State Department as an illegal move. They said they would pursue an array of tactics to slow down Republicans’ legislative agenda.
Democratic lawmakers say they are considering using their leverage in the minority party to withhold votes to continue to fund the government and place holds on certain Trump nominees to deny them speedy confirmation votes. This is according to multiple press conferences hosted by Democratic lawmakers Monday.
“We are pursuing every action that we think we can do,” Democratic Washington Rep. Patty Murray said during a press conference Monday afternoon. “But I will tell you this: we are here to pull the fire alarm. We are pulling the fire alarm.”
“It is up to them [Republicans] to decide whether they want to get out of the fire hoses or sit in the fire, and I think we know what they need to do,” Murray added.
🚨Trump’s decision to shut down USAID has frozen critical work to deliver vital assistance around the globe, and put China in the driver’s seat.
We’re at USAID HQ fighting back against Trump’s outrageous assault on dedicated USAID workers. Tune in now: https://t.co/EXyxjqiZXL
— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) February 3, 2025
Republican lawmakers have largely backed Trump’s moves to reorganize USAID in the name of saving taxpayer dollars and restoring the agency’s mission under the State Department to better reflect what they said are American interests.
“I’m supportive of the Trump Administration’s efforts to reform and restructure the agency in a way that better serves U.S. national security interests,” Republican Idaho Sen. Jim Risch, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote in a press release Monday evening.
Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott also commented on the matter.
“President Trump and his admin have every right to look at how we’re spending taxpayer dollars and make sure it’s in the best interests of the U.S. He promised to revamp the government and cut waste, fraud and abuse—that’s what he’s doing. I’m glad to see @SecRubio leading that effort,” Scott wrote on X on Monday.
The White House released a press release Monday evening detailing more than 10 examples of “waste” and “abuse” in the agency’s funding.
“For decades, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been unaccountable to taxpayers as it funnels massive sums of money to the ridiculous — and, in many cases, malicious — pet projects of entrenched bureaucrats, with next-to-no oversight,” the press release said.
Republican Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno, meanwhile, told the DCNF that USAID “shouldn’t be a money laundering operation for Democrats’ projects.”
Evidence says the agency has funded left-wing activism and that some of its funding has ended up in the hands of terrorist groups such as the Taliban. Democrats, though, say they are pursuing a variety of legislative tactics to stall Trump’s legislative agenda to protest the USAID merger.
Democratic Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz is the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that funds USAID. He said Monday afternoon that he’s placing a “blanket hold” on all of Trump’s State Department nominees in response to the administration shutting down USAID.
“I will oppose unanimous consent,” Schatz told The Wall Street Journal Monday. “I will vote no. I will do maximal delays until this is resolved.”
Schatz’s promise to deny speedy confirmation votes for Trump’s State Department nominees would force Senate Majority Leader John Thune to use floor time to process each individual nomination.
During the press conference, Senate Democrats appeared to shy away from the idea of placing “blanket holds” on other Trump nominees. Schatz said he and his colleagues were not yet divulging all of their potential tactics to delay legislative business because of the USAID merger.
“We have leverage,” Schatz told reporters. “We don’t have extensive leverage, but we’re not without tools that we will be using.”
Democratic lawmakers also see the Mar. 14 government funding deadline as a potential point of leverage to force Republicans and the Trump administration to continue funding USAID as a standalone agency. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, in a letter sent to House Democrats Monday, threatened to withhold Democratic support for a government spending bill to continue funding the government to avert a partial government shutdown.
Democratic lawmakers defended the USAID’s mission Monday. They said that putting a freeze on foreign aid will hurt the United States’ standing on the world stage despite Republicans’ concerns of the agency’s past funding history.
“When you shut down the agency for international development, you give a gift to our adversaries because USAID plays an essential role in our foreign policy and national security policy,” Democratic Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen told the Daily Caller News Foundation following a press conference that House and Senate Democrats staged outside USAID headquarters.”
Trump, during a news conference Monday in the Oval Office, said the USAID merger should have been done a long time ago.
“[USAID] went crazy during the Biden administration,” Trump said. “They went totally crazy [with] what they were doing and the money they were giving to people that shouldn’t be getting [it].”
Featured Image Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America
