As congressional Republicans struggle to finalize a government funding deal ahead of the March 14 deadline, some Democrats are signaling they may withhold support in response to actions taken by former President Donald Trump and businessman Elon Musk.
Sen. Andy Kim explicitly stated his opposition to advancing a funding agreement if Republicans continue to back what he and other Democrats describe as unilateral efforts to dismantle federal agencies.
Speaking on NBC News’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Kim underscored the need for Democrats to use their leverage to counteract these actions.
“Look, if we have to take steps to be able to hold them accountable, use the leverage that we have to force it, I cannot support efforts that will continue this lawlessness that we’re seeing when it comes to this administration’s actions,” Kim said. “And for us to be able to support government funding in that way only for them to turn it around to dismantle the government, that is not something that should be allowed.”
Kim is one of several Democrats raising concerns about the effective shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) following Trump’s foreign aid freeze and the role of Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service in agency operations. Lawmakers argue that these actions violate constitutional provisions by undermining congressional authority.
“I’ve worked through multiple government shutdowns; I would be the last person to want to get to that stage,” Kim said. “But we are at a point where we are basically on the cusp of a constitutional crisis, seeing this administration taking steps that are so clearly illegal. And until we see a change in that behavior, we should not allow and condone that, nor should we assist in that.”
Kim discussed the ongoing action stemming from Trump and his administration and called on Democrats who are frustrated with the changes, to do more than protest.
He argued that his party is ready to shut down the federal government over various actions, including shuttering the U.S. Agency for International Development and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) having access to federal payment systems.
“It’s about time that someone stood up against Trump’s ‘death to America’ agenda,” said Lisa McCormick, who challenged Kim’s predecessor in the 2018 Democratic primary.
Trump has received sharp criticism over the administration’s recent actions, including saying he wants to take over Gaza. Some Democrats have said the idea would amount to “ethnic cleansing” and say it’s a distraction from all of the action within federal agencies.
Other Democratic senators have echoed similar concerns. Sen. Chris Murphy, a vocal critic of the changes at USAID, told ABC News’s “This Week” that the actions taken by Trump and Musk represent a serious threat to democratic governance.
“This is a fundamental corruption. And democracies don’t last forever,” Murphy said. “We see this as a crisis of epic proportions. We were watching the billionaires try to steal government from the people. And I think the broad cross-section of the American public, as you’ve seen in the last week, is going to rise up and say, enough.”
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer has taken additional steps, setting up a whistleblower portal for federal employees to report potential legal violations within their agencies.
In a letter reviewed by journalists, Senate Democrats emphasized their commitment to protecting whistleblowers and investigating alleged abuses of power.
The debate over government funding is intensifying as Republicans struggle to unify their ranks. Speaker Mike Johnson has faced difficulties in securing consensus within his party, requiring Democratic support to advance spending measures.
However, Democrats, now openly discussing the use of a funding deadline as leverage, could pose additional hurdles for Republican leadership.
“There’s been lots of posturing, back and forth,” Johnson said Sunday on Fox News. “But I think we can get this job done.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries countered last week, asserting that Trump’s funding freezes must be “choked off” if Republicans want bipartisan support.
The internal Democratic debate continues over how aggressively to push back, with some favoring a measured approach while others advocate for a more forceful response.
Sen. Cory Booker, speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” reflected this tension.
“Our strategy is to do whatever we can to stop Donald Trump from hurting Americans, from making us less safe, less secure, and from raising our costs,” Booker said. “We will look at every single tool in our toolbox, as we have done this last week, to make sure that we stop him from hurting people. We are in a crisis right now.”
Booker reported to the Federal Election Commission having more than $11 million in his campaign fund, even though he is two years away from running for another term.
As the funding deadline approaches, the prospect of a government shutdown remains uncertain, Democrats have yet to understand why they lost to Republicans.
Many establishment politicians still hope to negotiate a deal that satisfies both fiscal conservatives within the GOP and Democrats who are being bowled over as Trump and Musk are running roughshod over federal agencies and usurping the power of Congress.