On the day President Donald J. Trump took office for the second time, he signed more executive orders than any of his predecessors. Those orders called for dismantling the federal government and mass deportations of immigrants. Each new day brings news on how the Trump administration is fulfilling Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s playbook for the first 180 days of his presidency.
Democrats are the minority in both houses of Congress, but that doesn’t stop them from opposing Trump. Democratic lawmakers continue resisting Trump’s agenda. Some shout during his speeches, while others hold rallies or make their own speeches.
Democrats Respond To Trump’s Address To Congress
During President Trump’s first congressional address during his second term, Democratic lawmakers pushed back. Many lawmakers who stood against Trump during the address were part of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Some Democratic members of Congress held up signs that included “Save Medicaid,” “Protect veterans,” and “Musk steals.” Others wore t-shirts emblazoned with slogans. Florida’s Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost’s t-shirt proclaimed, “No Kings Live Here.” No Democratic lawmaker stood or clapped for Trump while he spoke for two hours. Some Democrats even walked out as he spoke.
Rep. Al Green (TXC) shouted that Trump had “no mandate” to cut Medicaid. Later, Rep. Green spoke to the press, saying he interrupted because “the President said he had a mandate, and I wanted him to know he didn’t have a mandate to cut Medicaid.” He pointed out that the President called certain members of Congress “lunatics.” He also said, “There comes a time when you can’t allow the President’s incivility to take advantage of our civility.”
The CBC stood by Rep. Green by releasing a statement. “Congressman Al Green’s decision to protest President Trump’s words during the Joint Address on Tuesday was one of conscience, and he maintains the full support of our Caucus,” the statement said.
Senator Elissa Slotkin (MI) gave the Democratic response to Trump’s congressional address. She warned that Trump has taken a “reckless” approach to the economy and foreign affairs. “President Trump is trying to deliver an unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends,” she said. “He’s on the hunt to find trillions of dollars to pass along to the wealthiest in America. And to do that, he’s going to make you pay in every part of your life.”
Speaking Out Against Abuse of Power
Certain Democratic Senators continue speaking out about Trump’s abuse of power. Senator Alex Padilla (CA), the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, challenged Trump’s “invasion” proclamation. The president declared that the Constitution and U.S. laws give him the “power” to declare an invasion “at the southern border.”
“As a legal matter, migration is not an invasion.’ As courts have consistently held, an ‘invasion’ under the Constitution requires ‘armed hostility from another political entity, such as another state or foreign country that is intending to overthrow the [] government.” Alex Padilla
Senator Adam Schiff (CA) warned of Trump’s weaponization of the Justice Department during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. He mentioned Trump’s narrative that former President Joe Biden used the Justice Department as a weapon against him. “But this narrative they have created also serves another purpose, and that it is, it allows them, in Orwellian fashion, to do what they have accused others of doing, but have accused falsely,” Schiff said. “And that is, it allows them to weaponize the department.”
Connecticut’s Senator Chris Murphy exposed the corruption of the Trump administration while speaking on the Senate floor. “In the first six weeks of the Trump presidency, Trump and Elon Musk and their billionaire friends have engaged in a stunning rampage of open public corruption,” Murphy said. He added that the Trump administration’s efforts are “not fundamentally different than what happened in Russia.”
Resisting Trump and His Minions: The Fighting Oligarchy Tour
The independent senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders launched a Fighting Oligarchy tour. He aims to rally Americans to resist Trump’s administration. Stop after stop, his tour continues drawing crowds. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY) will join Sanders for five stops. Rep. Steven Horsford (NV) will also participate for two stops.
Sanders’ message is summed up in three words: Don’t give up. “If there has ever been a time to stand up and fight back, now is that time,” Sanders said at a stop in Iowa. In a piece for In These Times, Sanders urged Americans not to despair. He reminded readers that “real change only occurs when ordinary people stand up against oppression and injustice — and fight back.”
“If we stand together and not let them divide us up by the color of our skin or where we were born or our religion or sexual orientation; if we bring our people together around an agenda that works for the many and not the few — there is nothing in the world that can stop us.
We can win. We will win. Let’s go forward together.”
Resisting Trump is how we maintain American democracy.
Image credit: Paul Sableman on Flickr
