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Chuck Darwin<p>Progressive lawmakers <br>(AKA The Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party)<br>condemned Donald Trump and Elon Musk on Monday, <br>➡️pointing to the attempted shuttering of the foreign aid agency USAid and the accessing of the treasury department’s federal payment system as the markings of a ⚠️“constitutional crisis”.</p><p>After Musk declared that he was working to shut down USAid, <br>Democratic members of Congress tried to enter the agency’s Washington headquarters <br>but said they were turned away on the orders of Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge). </p><p>USAid staffers were also locked out of the building on Monday, <br>as the White House confirmed plans to merge the agency with the state department.</p><p>Addressing reporters outside the USAid headquarters, Representative Ilhan <a href="https://c.im/tags/Omar" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Omar</span></a>, <br>a Democrat of Minnesota, <br>accused Trump and Musk of attempting to <br>“take away the constitutional power of Congress”, <br>which has the authority to allocate federal funds.</p><p>“We are witnessing a constitutional crisis,” <br>Omar said. <br>“We talked about Trump wanting to be a dictator on day one, <br>and here we are. </p><p>This is what the beginning of dictatorship looks like. </p><p>When you gut the constitution and you install yourself as the sole power, <br>that is how dictators are made.”</p><p>The clash at USAid came one day after news broke that Musk’s associates had received access to the treasury department’s federal payment system, <br>potentially exposing the sensitive personal data of millions of Americans. </p><p>Democratic lawmakers reported receiving a deluge of calls from constituents expressing alarm over the possibility that their personal information might have been jeopardized.</p><p>“Donald Trump has given unprecedented power over the federal government to an unelected, unaccountable billionaire,” <br>Representative Greg <a href="https://c.im/tags/Casar" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Casar</span></a>, a Democrat of Texas and chair of the congressional progressive caucus, said in a statement. </p><p>“Progressives will fight this in the courts, on the House floor, and with every tool at our disposal <br>until Elon Musk is out of our government and no longer putting taxpayers, the sick, and the elderly at risk.”</p><p>Senator Elizabeth <a href="https://c.im/tags/Warren" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Warren</span></a>, a Democrat of Massachusetts, <br>sent a letter to Trump’s new treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, on Sunday <br>to demand answers for his role in allowing Musk’s team access to the payment system. </p><p>She warned that such access “puts the country at greater risk of defaulting on our debt, <br>which could trigger a global financial crisis”.</p><p>“It is extraordinarily dangerous to meddle with the critical systems that process trillions of dollars of transactions each year, are essential to preventing a default on federal debt, <br>and ensure that tens of millions of Americans receive their Social Security checks, tax refunds, and Medicare benefits,” <br>Warren wrote. </p><p>“The American people deserve answers about your role in this mismanagement, <br>which threatens the privacy and economic security of every American.”</p><p>Representative Alexandria <a href="https://c.im/tags/Ocasio" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Ocasio</span></a>-<a href="https://c.im/tags/Cortez" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Cortez</span></a>, a Democrat of New York, <br>described the intervention of Musk, <br>who spent more than $290m on the 2024 election, <br>as a “five alarm fire” and a “grave threat to national security”.</p><p>“This is a plutocratic coup. </p><p>If you want the power, run for office and be chosen by the people,” <br>Ocasio-Cortez said in a social media post. </p><p>“Short of that, this is an exercise in vigilantism.”<br><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/03/trump-musk-plutocratic-coup?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">theguardian.com/us-news/2025/f</span><span class="invisible">eb/03/trump-musk-plutocratic-coup?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other</span></a></p>
Nonilex<p>“Please raise your hand if you believe both <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Hunter" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Hunter</span></a> &amp; <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> should be held <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/accountable" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>accountable</span></a> for any of the <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/indictments" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>indictments</span></a> against them, if <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/convicted" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>convicted</span></a> by a jury of their peers,” <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Casar" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Casar</span></a> said.</p><p><a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Democrats" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Democrats</span></a> held their hands high, but few, if any, <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/Republicans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Republicans</span></a> did the same.</p><p>“I think it is worse than embarrassing that Republicans won’t raise their hands. They refuse to say that <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/equal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>equal</span></a> <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/justice" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>justice</span></a> under the <a href="https://masto.ai/tags/law" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>law</span></a> should apply to everyone,” Casar said.</p>