On a clear winter day this week, a group of demonstrators spread out along a palm tree-dotted avenue in the charming city of Palm Desert, urging their Republican congressman to resist the aggressive reformation of the American government pushed by Donald Trump and Elon Musk. “You work for us, not Musk!” proclaimed one sign. Another warned, “Remember your oath,” as a mobile billboard cruised nearby, featuring the president alongside the wealthy tech entrepreneur, with the message: “When he’s scouring your bank accounts, you ditch him.”
The gathering, consisting of dozens of people, erupted with cheers when a white Tesla made a turn and honked its horn. A smaller group of constituents had sought a meeting with congressman Ken Calvert but discovered that his local office was locked and the blinds firmly shut.
“He needs to hear from us, we the people,” stated Colleen Duffy-Smith, 71, a volunteer with the progressive advocacy group MoveOn who played a key role in organizing the lunchtime protest. The semi-retired attorney and college lecturer waved her “Nobody elected Elon” sign as a series of cars honked in support. She clarified that she is not a “professional activist” but felt compelled to act out of genuine concern that Trump, with Musk’s influence, has jeopardized the nation’s democracy.
“I have to believe that, given the atrocious decisions being made daily—eroding personal freedoms, civil rights, our social services, and international aid—someone must possess a conscience,” Duffy-Smith expressed. “And once the tipping point is reached, other rational individuals will follow suit.”
Progressive activists and alarmed constituents utilized the first week-long recess of the new Trump administration to pressure Republican lawmakers to confront the president, Musk, and their potentially unlawful power maneuvers.
Nationwide, frustrated constituents expressed their outrage over proposed Medicaid cuts, the expanding influence of Musk’s self-proclaimed “department of government efficiency,” and the Trump administration’s endeavors to dismantle or entirely eliminate federal agencies crucial for everyday Americans, at town hall meetings in staunchly conservative regions of Georgia, Wisconsin, and Oregon, as well as at congressional offices and Tesla dealerships.
“They scoff at the Constitution,” remarked Kathleen Hirschi, 74, who donned a knitted pink pussy hat that emerged as a symbol of the anti-Trump resistance during his initial term. She brandished the same sign she designed for the Women’s March eight years ago, when widespread discontent contributed to Democratic victories in the 2018 midterms. Calvert’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
One month into the new Trump administration, the opposition landscape appears different. Activists assert that the week of protests heralds a burgeoning movement. “We’re witnessing a resurgence of the energy that mobilized during 2016 and 2020 as people become increasingly outraged by the actions of Musk and Trump,” stated Ravi Mangla, the national press secretary for the Working Families Party (WFP). “If the threat felt intangible or not urgent during the election season or earlier this year, it seems to strike as very immediate to many now.”
The group organized multiple protests this week, including one on Wednesday where parents, educators, and students gathered outside a congressional office in Republican Mike Lawler’s suburban New York district.
Among those enduring the cold to protest a Trump administration proposal to abolish the Department of Education was Melita Corselli, 38, a mother of four whose children depend on special education services.
“Those most reliant on these services are your workforce— the ones filling your gas tanks in your town but struggling to make ends meet,” she conveyed to the congressman. “Our kids deserve the same quality of education as yours.”
Aside from a few notable exceptions, Republicans have largely remained quiet as the president has removed critics from office, dismissed federal prosecutors involved in cases against him, claimed authority over Congress’s spending power, and disrupted democratic partnerships. Generally, they have voiced support for Musk’s initiatives aimed at eliminating waste within the federal government.
Protesters gather at the Georgia state capitol in support of fired workers at US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday. Photograph: Erik S Lesser/EPA
Lawsuits initiated by Democratic attorneys general, unions, and legal groups formed during Trump’s first term have impeded some of Trump and Musk’s initiatives. Congressional Democrats, currently in the minority and grappling with their November losses, are under escalating pressure to leverage all available options—potentially including a government shutdown—to thwart Trump’s agenda.
Musk has emerged as a kind of supervillain to liberals, many of whom have spent the last decade fueling the resistance against Trump. Musk’s radical government cuts and access to sensitive taxpayer data have instigated an influx of lawsuits and nationwide protests, with activists and Democrats accusing him of orchestrating a “hostile” and “illegal” takeover of federal governance.
“The concept of someone un-elected, lacking a mandate to govern, who also happens to be the wealthiest man globally, executing unilateral actions outside customary processes, feels profoundly misaligned with our values and basic democratic principles, which is triggering alarm for many,” Mangla remarked.
In a joint appearance with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Trump commended Musk while dismissing his critics: “They wouldn’t be complaining as much if we weren’t doing something beneficial.” Meanwhile, onstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference this week, Musk brandished a “chainsaw for bureaucracy.”
Yet recent polling indicates dissatisfaction among many Americans. A Washington Post-Ipsos poll revealed double the disapproval compared to approval regarding Musk’s decisions to close federal agencies deemed superfluous. Similarly, a UJ survey showed that 62% of respondents—47% of whom identified as Republicans—felt Trump had not adequately responded to Americans’ preeminent concern: the soaring cost of everyday goods.
In Georgia this week, Trump supporters acknowledged that it may take time for the president to lower prices, yet expressed struggles to afford essential items such as eggs and milk.
Democrats perceive an opportunity to channel that frustration.
In California, Democrat Christina Gagnier, a former school board member, recently entered the race against Republican congresswoman Young Kim in a closely monitored Orange County district. On the campaign trail, Gagnier has heard numerous accounts from business owners and parents who feel “bullied” by the administration’s threats to impose tariffs and impose extensive cuts.
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“People feel disrespected,” she stated. “These are real issues affecting real individuals. These situations are affecting our neighbors. This isn’t an issue confined to Washington, D.C.”
In a statement, Sam Oh, Kim’s political consultant, asserted that the congresswoman holds “deep community ties and has consistently prioritized engaging with her constituents, advocating for her district, and delivering results.”
Anger regarding the actions of Trump and Musk appears widespread, overflowing not only in critical House districts that may ultimately determine Congressional control, but also within conservative enclaves that supported the president in 2024.
In Georgia, congressman Rich McCormick likely anticipated a warm reception at a town hall in his strongly Republican district. Instead, the congressman was greeted with boos and jeers from attendees infuriated by Musk’s harsh approach to federal governance and Trump’s unfounded claims regarding Ukraine’s initiation of the war with Russia, along with the president’s social media comparison of himself to a “king.”
“We’re all really angry about this,” one constituent told McCormick. Another attendee, concerned about the administration’s reduction of hundreds of workers at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, inquired, “Why is a supposedly conservative party adopting such a radical, extremist, and careless approach?”
“I came here to have a discussion,” McCormick remarked as the heated session neared its conclusion. “I think many of you didn’t come here in good faith for a discussion. You came here to shout at me and boo.”
Numerous House Democrats organized in-person events to address the ramifications of the administration’s cuts and Republicans’ government funding proposals. On Tuesday night, a town hall convened by Democratic congressman Eugene Vindman of Virginia drew a sizable crowd that included federal employees expressing fear over potential job eliminations.
Congressman Mark DeSaulnier, a Democrat from California, scheduled a second town hall due to the “overwhelming response” to his first event. Congressman Jim McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts, reported that 500 people attended his “Coffee with your Congressman” event last week, “perhaps the largest turnout I’ve ever had.” In Omaha and Iowa City, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders attracted thousands as part of his “fight oligarchy” tour.
Sanders hit the road after joining Senate Democrats in an all-night “vote-a-rama” protest against the Republicans’ budget proposal. This plan, a blueprint for executing key elements of the president’s immigration and energy agenda, passed nearly entirely along party lines in the early hours of Friday. However, it remains an alternative if the House fails to forward Trump’s preference for “one big, beautiful bill” that “executes my FULL America First Agenda.”
To fund the House version, Republican negotiators are contemplating significant reductions in social services, particularly Medicaid, the government health insurance program for low-income and disabled Americans, which Trump recently asserted would not be “touched.” With only a slender majority in the House, GOP leaders can ill afford any defections.
Conscious of the stakes, Keeley Level, 64, and her dog Prudence joined the Palm Desert protest on Thursday, hoping to persuade Calvert, the Republican congressman, to oppose any cuts to Medicaid or California’s equivalent, Medi-Cal.
For over two decades, Level has cared for her husband, who suffered from a brain injury that left him partly paralyzed. Without federal assistance, she worries: “I don’t know how I’ll manage his prescriptions.”
She also harbors fear for the nation. With midterm elections not scheduled until 2026, she wonders what portion of the federal government will remain intact after the overhaul by Trump and Musk?
“I’m hoping that, before it’s too late, people will awaken to the reality,” she concluded.
