Democrats attempted to enter the closed headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development on Monday, only to be denied entry as X CEO Elon Musk, the head of the Department of Governmental Efficiency, works to dissolve it into the State Department.

The lawmakers, flanked by agency employees and contractors, held a protest arguing the work of USAID is crucial for national security, disease prevention, and providing aid across the world. 

“Make no mistake, this effort by Elon Musk and so-called DOGE to shut down the International Agency for International Development is an absolute gift to our adversaries, to Russia, to China, to Iran, and others, because AID is an essential instrument of U.S. foreign policy and U.S. national security policy,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) on Monday morning. 

In response, Van Hollen and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) also said they would put a “blanket hold” on Trump’s nominees for the State Department. The Senate typically speeds up the confirmation process for uncontroversial appointees, but by objecting, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) would be forced to use floor time to confirm the president’s choices.

Schatz said he has been in regular communication with Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s office, but noted correspondence has been difficult due to his overseas travel.

“If there is an opportunity to look at reform, I’m all ears,” Schatz told reporters on Monday. “Lindsey Graham and I had a conversation about the kinds of reforms that were being contemplated by the secretary. But we cannot have a negotiation when the whole agency is illegally shut down.”

“If the agency is reopened, then we can start acting like adults and have a negotiation. But right now, they’ve illegally shut down foreign aid,” Schatz added.

Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ), who started his career in public service at USAID, said he was getting phone calls from previous colleagues who were concerned about chaos unfolding at the agency. 

“This is no way to govern, this is no way to treat public servants. This is no way for us to conduct our foreign policy as a country,” Kim said, speaking to reporters outside the USAID headquarters. “I had to come out here and see it with my own eyes, the chaos of this administration.”

Senate Democrats huddled on Monday evening to discuss the path forward to oppose the White House’s plan to overhaul USAID.

Rubio sent a letter to the House and Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Monday stating he would be the acting administrator of the agency despite it being an independent body for six decades. 

“Current foreign assistance processes are severely inefficient and do not substantially benefit the American people. USAID has numerous conflicting, overlapping, and duplicative functions that it shares with the Department of State,” Rubio said in the letter, obtained by the Washington Examiner. 

“Additionally, USAID’s systems and processes are not well synthesized, integrated, or coordinated, and often result in discord in the foreign policy and foreign relations of the United States. This undermines the President’s ability to carry out foreign relations,” Rubio added.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday that shutting down USAID “should have been done a long time ago.” Asked whether he needs Congress to approve such a measure, the president said he did not think so.

Senate Republicans were supportive of Trump’s freeze of USAID, which has affected tens of thousands of programs globally. 

“Sen. Rubio, now Secretary of State Rubio in his confirmation hearing spoke specifically about that – we know there’s lots of waste in USAID over the years, and I think it’s important to have appropriate oversight and see what spending is necessary and in the best interest of the United States and what spending isn’t,” said Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), the No. 2 Republican in the upper chamber.

“They are taking an appropriate effort to try to make sure that the taxpayer dollars are being used wisely,” Barrasso added.

Thune also said he believed Trump had the ability to freeze the agency as Democrats maintain the move is a direct challenge to congressional authority.

“I think he has the authority to make sure that it’s running correctly. As you’ve seen from Secretary Rubio’s statements, they’ve been trying for months and years to get information about how the money is being spent,” Thune said. “I think they have the right to find out how the money is being spent.”

Tone deaf Democrats are LIVID. They want to ship your tax dollars abroad. President Trump wants to put America first.
pic.twitter.com/kMV1pxAvi5

— Taylor Budowich (@Taylor47) February 3, 2025

Taylor Budowich, the White House deputy chief of staff, called Democrats “tone deaf” in a post on X.

“Tone deaf Democrats are LIVID. They want to ship your tax dollars abroad. President Trump wants to put America first,” he wrote in a post.

Not all Republicans appeared to be comfortable with the sweeping executive actions from the White House. While Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) said he was comfortable with the reform of USAID, he said he is still attempting to understand the scale of what exactly happened.

“I’m comfortable with USAID doing a top-to-bottom shift,” Lankford said. “I’m still trying to be able to learn what happened today, who got access to information. I have no idea. What’s happened in the last 48 hours, I’m still trying to be able to figure out as well, what’s fact and fiction, what actually occurred.”

Lankford stressed Congress would need to approve funding changes.

“All of those things are congressional because that’s all law,” he said.

Musk has been leading a review of the federal government with Trump’s blessing. Musk announced during a live session on X Spaces on Monday that he had spoken with Trump about the agency and “he agreed we should shut it down.”

“It became apparent that it’s not an apple with a worm in it,” Musk said. “What we have is just a ball of worms. You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing. It’s beyond repair.”

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said she has concerns about Musk’s actions. Last week, Musk’s team at DOGE gained access to payment systems at the Department of Treasury and locked some employees out of their agency’s computers, according to Reuters.

“I’m very concerned about Mr. Musk, or any of his assistants, going into federal agencies and demanding personal information on employees. I’m not sure where the authority of that would come from,” Collins said, speaking to reporters on Monday evening.

Democrats said they are prepared to use every tool available to fight back, but declined to show their cards any further.

“We are pursuing every action that we think we can do, but I will tell you this, we are here to pull the fire alarm,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA).