Amid 'Illegal' USAID Takeover, Dems Say There's No 'Fourth Branch of Government Called Elon Musk'

Several Democratic members of Congress were denied entry to the headquarters of the United States Agency for International Development on Monday, after giving a press conference on the attempted takeover of USAID by President Donald Trump and his adviser, billionaire businessman Elon Musk.

Federal law enforcement officers blocked the delegation, including Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), from entering the offices. Beyer later said the moves were "illegal and corrupt and we will keep fighting it."

The Democrats had just finished speaking about the events of this past weekend, when employees of the Department of Government Efficiency( DOGE), the advisory body Trump appointed Musk to lead, demanded that security officials at USAID hand over confidential files. The officials were placed on administrative leave when they refused, along with dozens of other senior federal workers at the agency.

On Monday, as the Democratic delegation prepared to respond to the Trump administration's actions, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he was now the acting director of USAID, which assists with disaster recovery, poverty alleviation, and other foreign aid operations.

The Democrats had a simple message at the press conference, where more than 100 demonstrators gathered holding signs reading, "USAID Must Be Saved" and "Today USAID. What's Next?" The agency was created by an act of Congress in 1961, when the Foreign Assistance Act was passed, and only Congress can dismantle it.

"Elon Musk, you didn't create USAID, the U.S. Congress did for the American people," said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) "And just like he didn't create USAID, he's not gonna destroy it."

"Just like the president... cannot impound the money of the people," added Raskin, "we don't have a fourth branch of government called Elon Musk, and that's going to become real clear."

The members of Congress were refused entry to the agency headquarters after staffers were advised on Monday morning to stay out of the building, where yellow police tape blocked the lobby.

As Common Dreamsreported, Musk said Monday that he had checked with President Donald Trump "a few times" about the future of USAID, and the president allegedly directed him to shut it down.

Raskin condemned "murmurings of support for this outrageous, scandalous, illegal maneuver" that he said he had heard from some Republican colleagues, with supporters saying the administration is simply "evaluating" the agency's work.

"I've heard from multiple constituents working in USAID that they have removed all evaluations from the USAID website," said Raskin. "This has nothing to do with evaluations, this is about termination and obliteration of the major foreign aid programs of the United States of America."

At a separate press briefing, Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) told reporters Monday morning that security guards at USAID had "been given specific orders to prevent employees of USAID from entering the building today."

"I went inside and tried to speak to the acting administrator [Jason] Gray," he said, referring to the official who Rubio has reportedly replaced. "Unfortunately I was not able to meet with him, and I'm going to continue to try... I want to hear straight from him, are these the orders that he gave? ...This is no way to govern, this is no way to treat public servants, and this is no way for us to conduct foreign policy as a country."

Before attempting to enter USAID, Beyer said Musk's takeover of the agency is "a case of the very worst among us attacking the best of us," noting that agency employees work to prevent the spread of infectious disease around the world and in the U.S., among other foreign aid missions.

"What Trump and Musk have done is not only wrong, it is illegal," said Beyer. "Stopping this will require action by the courts and Republicans to show up and show courage and stand up for our country."

"I'm urging my fellow Democrats to use every legislative tool we have at our disposal to slow down and stop this crime from succeeding," he added.

After being blocked from entering USAID, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) toldThe New York Times that the lawmakers were working to secure an injunction to block Musk's order to keep the offices closed.

With Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress, the Democrats' path to fighting Musk and Trump over USAID is likely through the court system. Last week, the Office of Management and Budget's order for all federal grants and loans to be frozen was temporarily blocked by two federal judges.

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), also part of the delegation that went to USAID, emphasized that the takeover was "a bluff."

"They are counting on some sense of inevitability," he said. "It is a harmful killer bluff, but they don't have the law on their side, and so every civil servant, every contractor, every individual who is scared, stand in solidarity with each other."