Democratic Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley said she would bring “fire” to Republicans Tuesday if they ignore her party’s concerns about Elon Musk and his access to the Treasury Department.
Democrats and activists gathered outside the Treasury Department to protest Musk having access to the agency’s data. In a speech during the rally, Pressley warned Republican lawmakers about this issue and called for people to resist if this situation continues.
“With unprecedented organizing, mobilizing, agitating. We will see you in the courts, in Congress, in the streets,” Pressley said. The rhetoric escalated with direct attacks on Musk.
“Elon Musk is a Nazi nutball baby. A godless, lawless billionaire. No one elected Elon. This is the American people. This is not your trashy cyber truck that you can just dismantle, pick apart and sell the pieces of,” Pressley said.
“I want to say to our Republican colleagues — pay attention. We’re here today in the hopes that you will see the light. But if you do not see the light, we will bring the fire. Resist,” Pressley said.
Treasury Department officials said Tuesday that federal expenditures would continue unabated.
“Treasury has no higher obligation than managing the government’s finances on behalf of the American people, and its payments system is critical to that process,” wrote Jonathan Blum, a legislative affairs official at the Treasury Department, as reported by the New York Times.
Democratic lawmakers vowed to stall President Donald Trump’s agenda. Party strategists set up a new war room at their headquarters. Democratic demonstrators, joined by a growing number of elected officials, spoke of what they said was a potential constitutional crisis.
Under Trump, the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) called for major changes at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Plans were announced to shut down USAID on Monday. Musk said in an early Monday X Spaces conversation that he and Trump decided to close the agency.
The Trump administration instructed agency staff to work remotely, according to an overnight email, as reported by NBC News. By Monday afternoon, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had taken over as USAID’s acting director and criticized the agency for operating like a “global charity.”
Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst backed Musk and Trump and said she had her own concerns about USAID and how it handles money. She said that the money frequently fails to reach its intended targets.
Featured Image Credit: Maurizio Pesce from Milan, Italia
