Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the US Capitol on Wednesday to protest against Elon Musk and President Donald Trump's mass firings of thousands of employees and contractors for the US Agency for International Development.
USAID workers around the world were left in a mad dash to pack their homes and move their families after a sudden Trump administration order that pulled almost all of them off the job, shutting down the major functions of the primary agency for American humanitarian aid.
The move has been led by Mr Musk, who claimed without providing any evidence that USAID is a “criminal organisation” that was “beyond repair”.
The world's richest man, who campaigned alongside Mr Trump and gave more than $250 million to his campaign, has been rewarded with a broad remit to cull the federal workforce through the Department of Government Efficiency.
Speaking on a chilly Washington morning to a rally of concerned demonstrators, Atul Gawande, USAID's former assistant administrator for global health, criticised Mr Musk.
“You cannot dismantle a plane and fire the crew in mid-flight, but that's what an oligarch with unchecked power is doing to life-saving foreign assistance programmes,” said Mr Gawande, who lost his job because of the crackdown.
Leading chants of “let them work", the former USAID official said Washington “has two days” to stop the pullout of hundreds of employees around the world.
It is illegal for the White House to dismantle USAID, a Congressionally approved agency. The decision, warned Democratic politicians and former agency officials, has much broader implications for US democracy.
“I want to be clear that our democracy, and I hope you all agree with me, is on life support. In fact, it is in hospice,” Congresswoman Lateefah Simon said.
Congressman Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House foreign affairs committee, warned that the US is more at risk today than it was two days ago.
“Without soft power, there is only hard power, and we know that only brings war and more suffering,” Mr Meeks said.
The firings sparked protests beyond the US Capitol and across the wider US, including in Philadelphia and at state capitals including Minnesota, Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin and Indiana.
Senators from both parties flagged that their phone lines had been flooded with phone calls from constituents as the administration's purge of the federal workforce escalates.
But there was a clear frustration from large numbers of the protesters with the Democrats who showed up to support them.
Many of the Congressional Democrats were drowned out by shouts of “do your job” and “what's your plan” as the minority party detailed the effects of slashing USAID.
The Democrats are in a tricky position as they try to combat the administration's unlawful actions. Mr Trump's Republican Party is in full control of the government, and there are so far no meaningful party defectors standing up to him.
Senator Tim Kaine sought to quell the visible sense of urgency and frustration by outlining that “there's a litigation strategy, a state court strategy, a legislative strategy in Congress and a political strategy".
And Senator Chris Van Hollen pledged to vote against all State Department nominees – as Democrats come under significant backlash from progressives over unanimously voting to confirm Mr Trump's Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
Already, lawsuits have been filed in federal courts challenging Mr Trump's executive actions – but those suits typically take time, and will not quickly rebuke the landslide of sweeping administrative moves.
The foreign aid halt and USAID cuts have already had real impacts for people such as Eva, who has furloughed from her contracting job at the agency, and arrived at the protest with her baby.
“It feels terrible, it's not great timing for me,” she said.
Holding a sign reading “Trump lays off new moms,” she told The National that “there's no chance that anyone of us are coming back” without real action from the courts or US politicians.
Eva was among the demonstrators frustrated by the Democrats, who have slim odds of achieving any legislative checks on Mr Trump with a Republican majority in Congress.
“They need to do more … They're not going to get anywhere by being polite and rolling over. We have no legislative power and they need to do a lot more,” she added. “This is not the will of the people, we want to be a true partner. We are the richest nation in the world we want to help vulnerable people.”
Republicans are largely defending Mr Trump and are adamant that the decision is working for the American people.
Republican Senator Joni Ernst, who leads the Congressional Abraham Accords Caucus and is active on US foreign policy, has been working with the Department of Government Efficiency and has endorsed shutting down the USAID. Republicans claim the agency is wrought with wasteful spending, focusing on projects they consider to be endorsing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
“Funny how everyone concerned with DOGE downsizing government had no issue with millions of unelected bureaucrats constantly growing the size and scope of Washington,” Ms Ernst posted on X.
