Democratic lawmakers raised alarms Tuesday about the speedy way the Trump administration has sought to overhaul the federal government and curtail spending, but all but admitted that their strategy largely depends on other people to act to stop it.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York, at a news conference to criticize actions by Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency, said they would introduce legislation to prevent it called the “Stop the Steal” Act.
The law would place new legal limits on access to Treasury Department payment systems, which the DOGE reportedly received over the weekend. But it would require Republicans, some of whom have set up or signed onto DOGE caucuses and in the case of the House even a standing subcommittee in order to work with Musk, to help bring up and pass a bill that would rely on Trump to sign into law and then enforce..
And Schumer’s other avenues for opposing the Musk moves would rely on others. Democrats can work with groups that file litigation to get judges to stop Trump administration actions, he said. Democratic lawmakers can hold shadow hearings to present information from whistleblowers.
Schumer said Democrats can air what’s happening and rely on public outcry to counter efforts, such as last week’s broad freeze of federal funding, the shuttering of the U.S. Agency for International Development on Monday and DOGE access to Treasury Department payment systems.
And the main point of leverage Schumer mentioned to force change — a spending bill on which Republicans need their votes to keep the government open — doesn’t come up until March.
Schumer in the news conference brushed aside the idea of using leverage in the confirmation of Trump’s nominees. “On the appointments they don’t need Democrats, but on legislation, particularly the funding resolution, they do need us, and we will insist that there be certain changes that undo these bad things,” Schumer said.
Schumer and Jeffries did not say which conditions they would attach to funding legislation. Jeffries said House Democrats would be fishing for Republican support to roll back some of Trump’s changes, as Republicans will likely hold a two-seat majority in March when government spending is set to run out.
“All we need are three principled Republicans in the House, and a lot of the madness and extremism that has been unleashed on the American people can be halted,” Jeffries said.
Schumer told reporters Democrats “are going to do everything we can to sound the alarm and fight with everything we’ve got to stop these horrible, horrible acts by this DOGE group with the permission, acquiescence and encouragement of Donald Trump.”
But progressive groups have pushed Senate Democrats to take further steps in response to Musk’s actions. Any senator could, for instance, refuse unanimous consent for a variety of requests that the chamber relies on to conduct its business, such as dispensing with the reading of the journal or cutting off quorum calls, without which the Senate would eat up vast amounts of floor time.
In a statement Tuesday, Our Revolution’s Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese urged Democrats to oppose Trump nominees as a bloc, putting holds on them and withhold the unanimous consent that allows the chamber to function on a day-to-day basis.
Those moves would “bring Senate business to a grinding halt until this coup is reversed,” the statement said.
Efforts to slow down the Trump administration procedurally have not gotten very far in the Senate. Last week Democrats boycotted the Senate Budget Committee markup for Vought, and Republicans proceeded to vote to advance his nomination 11-0.
But Democrats have not united around throwing up procedural roadblocks to Trump’s nominees more broadly. After the party lunch Tuesday, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said there was not a “collective decision” to place holds on nominees en masse or withhold time agreements.
However, he said to expect more no votes from Democrats on Trump’s picks. “Many senators now who were very open to support nominees individually have now seen this as a blanket just, no,” Booker said.
Sen. Christopher S. Murphy, D-Conn., told reporters Tuesday he would not vote for any of Trump’s nominees.
“They’re destroying the federal government as we speak. They’re literally lighting agencies on fire one by one. They’re ignoring congressional requirements to spend money. You know, we’re in the middle of a crisis,” Murphy said.
One Democrat, Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, announced a hold on all State Department nominees in response to the shutdown of USAID operations over the weekend.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters Tuesday that even if Schatz’s holds are maintained, Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., could call them up for roll call votes “to get those people confirmed on a relatively timely basis.”
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