“I don’t think we’ve ever seen a president do as much damage to a country in 30 days that Donald Trump has done,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said during a news conference on Tuesday. “He promised a golden age. One month later, that promise seems like ancient history.”

.@SenSchumer standing alongside Dems holding pics of their constituents: “I don’t think we’ve ever seen a president do as much damage to a country in 30 days that Donald Trump has done on day one, he promised a golden age. One month later, that seems like ancient history.” pic.twitter.com/JipHyCRfvz

— Samantha-Jo Roth (@SamanthaJoRoth) March 4, 2025

Schumer and other Senate Democrats stood on the steps of the Capitol, holding posters with photos of their constituents who they argue are being hurt by the Trump administration’s policies. 

The New York senator held up a picture of 12-year-old Emma Larson, who was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy and has received a lifesaving treatment due to a National Institutes of Health grant. Larson was receiving treatment as part of a Phase 3 clinical trial that cost $16 million that has been cut by Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

“[Emma is] thriving because there was an NIH grant, the nerve, the nerve of Donald Trump, taking away those grants that gave Emma her life and her happiness, to make some millionaire to pay even less taxes,” Schumer said. 

Later in the day, Senate Democrats held a separate press conference, featuring first-hand accounts from their guests about how the Trump administration’s policies have affected their everyday lives.

“We are here to put a face on how important NIH funding is,” said Dianne Larson, Emma’s mother.

“We understand that some spending has to give somewhere. But when you have a result, especially something like this, a miracle drug that’s actually saving lives, that’s something to reconsider,” Larson said, standing alongside her daughter.

Dianne Larson and daughter Emma are guests of @SenSchumer. Emma Larson was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy and is receiving life saving treatment as a result of a grant, that has been cut. “We’re here to put a face on how important NIH funding is,” she said. pic.twitter.com/pYwMvAbbLZ

— Samantha-Jo Roth (@SamanthaJoRoth) March 4, 2025

“What the Trump administration is doing is not improving lives. It’s hurting them, and we will stand up for the people of this country and our guests who are pictured up here,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said.

Klobuchar’s guest, Gary Wertisy, a third-generation farmer from Minnesota and president of the Minnesota Farmers Union, spoke out about how Trump’s tariffs could affect farmers like himself.

“We are facing so much uncertainty now. The farmers have to deal with weather; that’s always a big uncertainty. We don’t need the uncertainty coming from the United States government,” Wertisy said during a press conference. “It’s also destroying our relationship with our trading partners around the globe.”

While freshman Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) will deliver the official party response on Tuesday night after Trump’s speech, Democratic leadership on both sides of the Capitol have been encouraging their members to  “flood the zone” and to speak out before and after Trump’s speech. Many of the senators were featured in a social media campaign, as dozens of them simultaneously posted videos of themselves seemingly using the same script.

Democrats argue that cuts to government and safety-net programs will be used to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy in the looming budget battle. Republicans have not voted to cut Medicaid, but House Republicans passed a budget blueprint last week that provides for $2 trillion in spending cuts. 

Now, they are attempting to use Trump’s record against him in an attempt to seize some political momentum, with many viewing the government cuts as a political opportunity. House Majority Forward, a Democratic Super PAC, began airing TV and digital ads on Monday, attacking vulnerable House Republicans who voted for the budget resolution.

While some Democratic strategists are commending congressional Democrats for getting out in front and discussing the impacts of the looming budget battle even though it hasn’t come to pass just yet, others are reminding them to get very specific about how Trump’s decisions are affecting the nation.

“The way that you phrase it is – Democrats are bringing recently fired veterans. Democrats are bringing fired experts on bird flu, Democrats are bringing dismissed scientists who are researching cancer cures,” said Jon Reinish, a veteran Democratic strategist. “That’s how you phrase it, it’s not Democrats are bringing federal workers, then you lose people. People are not that interested in federal workers.”

Reinish pointed out that Democrats need to tread carefully with their arguments about government cuts.

“Most Americans, no matter what their party affiliation is, do consider the federal government to be bloated, wasteful, inefficient,” He said. “While many do not approve of how Trump and an unelected billionaire are going about this, many do like the idea of trimming down obscure agencies that no one has ever really heard about like USAID,” he said. 

The public is divided on the government cuts, according to recent polling. A CBS News/YouGov poll conducted at the end of February found 51% approved of Trump’s efforts to cut staff at government agencies and 49% disapproved. While a NPR/PBS News/Marist poll found 55% of respondents said the cuts were doing more harm than good, and 39% of respondents had a favorable view of Elon Musk.

FIRED FEDERAL WORKERS AND MEDICAID RECIPIENTS: CONGRESS’S INVITE LIST FOR TRUMP’S ADDRESS

In the first days of Trump’s return to office, Democrats were caught flat-footed and struggled to respond to the sheer volume of executive orders, personnel changes, and policy shifts of the new administration. Now, over 30 days into Trump’s second term, Democratic leadership is still working to determine the best way to mount resistance to the administration after a string of losses in November cost them control of the White House and the Senate.