Democratic lawmakers criticized what they called the Trump administration’s “extreme” efforts to reshape the U.S. government, vowing to oppose those changes despite limited political capital in both chambers of the U.S. Congress.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said on the chamber’s floor Monday that Republicans were departing from their campaign pledge not to follow Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for reshaping the U.S. government.
“This year, Republicans have spent all of their time implementing the most extreme parts of Project 2025 and have done nothing to lower the high cost of living,” Jeffries said.
Congressional Republicans say Trump is exercising broad presidential authority to reevaluate government agencies. Trump is accomplishing this through Elon Musk, a multibillionaire whom he put in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, whose aim is to reduce federal spending.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote in a letter to colleagues that Democrats have a four-pronged strategy to oppose the Trump administration’s actions: oversight, litigation, legislation, and communication and mobilization.
Schumer also said Democrats would continue to support litigation in the courts to stop the funding freeze and to prevent federal employees from being laid off.
Vice President JD Vance criticized those judicial decisions, writing on X, “If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal. Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy responded on X Monday, “For those of us who believe we are in the middle of a constitutional crisis, this is the meat of it. Trump and Vance are laying the groundwork to ignore the courts — democracy’s last line of defense against unchecked executive power.”
Senate Democrats also announced a new whistleblowers portal for federal civil service employees and public servants to disclose information about wrongdoing.
In a statement, they said, “As Senate Republicans refuse to fulfill their constitutional duty to provide a check on the Executive Branch, Senate Democrats remain steadfast in our commitment to uncovering the truth. We are prepared to issue demand letters, preserve public records, conduct public hearings, and pursue legal action where necessary.”
Schumer said Democrats would support legislation funding the U.S. government but called on Republicans to negotiate in a bipartisan fashion. A short-term resolution funding the U.S. government expires on March 14. Any bill funding the government past that date needs 60 votes in the U.S. Senate to pass. Republicans currently hold the majority in the chamber with 53 seats.