Andy Kim, D-N.J., said that Democrats in Congress would back shutting down the federal government “if we have to” so that President Trump couldn’t destroy it. In a Sunday appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Kim said that not letting the Democrats decide next month on funding that the government needs to stay open might be the best way to “hold them accountable and use the leverage that we have.”
A lot of executive orders have been issued by the Trump administration to get rid of government programs. The so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which is run by Elon Musk, the richest person in the world, has also been given permission to try to fire thousands of civil servants. Federal courts have temporarily stopped the reorganization drive after lawsuits were made against the measures. Several of the lawsuits were brought by Democratic attorneys general. Kim, a new senator, said, “I cannot support efforts that will keep up this lawlessness we’re seeing.” There are mostly Republicans in both the House and Senate of the United States. By March 14, they need to pass a continuing budget measure to keep the government’s funding.
The GOP only has a small majority in the House. In the past few months, Republican Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana has needed votes from Democrats several times to keep the government from shutting down. A big group of conservative politicians in Johnson’s caucus are against keeping the spending going.
The computer system that the Treasury Department uses to pay government bills has been broken into by Musk’s team. Millions of Americans’ private information, like Social Security numbers and bank account numbers, are stored in files in the system.
On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said he wouldn’t rule out using the possibility of a government shutdown to get things done.
Booker said that Trump’s actions are leading to “ease of corruption, abuse, and invasions of people’s privacy and other most sacred values.” “We are in a crisis right now, and Democrats will use every tool possible to protect Americans.”
SpaceX, which is owned by Musk, has government contracts worth billions of dollars and access to secret national security information. They can also see personal information. Some people say that in his new job, he has a conflict of interest.
The Trump administration’s order and Elon Musk’s moves have already shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development, which sends food and medicine to other countries as aid.
Kim, who worked for USAID and other groups before he was elected to the House in 2018, said that gives up American power and makes the country less safe.
“China doesn’t even need to fight for their influence around the world now, because of our own effort – we’re doing China’s work for them,” he added. “I hope that the American people understand just how dire a situation it is.”
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