Wednesday, February 5, 2025
On late Thursday afternoon, protestors organized by progressive group Indivisible gathered outside the Treasury Building in Washington, D.C., to protest the actions taken over the last week by Elon Musk and Donald Trump.
Several Democratic members of congress spoke at the event, which drew over 2,000 people. The demonstrators crowded 15th St NW between F and G streets. The Treasury building sits directly to the east of the White House.
Protestors brought signs and chanted, angry on how much influence Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, has in the government despite not being elected. Nadine Seiler, an anti-Trump activist, held a sign saying that Musk bought the country for US$41.277 billion—the amount Musk spent on the acquisition of Twitter plus money he spent to get Trump reelected.
Other protestors held up signs calling Musk’s actions a coup or a takeover of the government, and called him unelected. These talking points were echoed in the speeches given by Democrats. The Democrats warned that Musk’s involvement in the Treasury meant he has a unique and powerful view into everyday Americans’ lives, from their Social Security numbers to their tax filings.
Some positions were not repeated by the Democrats. One sign called for Musk’s arrest, and at one point people chanted for that, too. While the speakers typically began chanting with the audience when chants broke out, they did not do it that time. (Back in October, on the campaign trail, then-Vice President Kamala Harris held a rally where people chanted “lock him [Trump] up!”, which she replied “The courts are going to take care of that.” The courts did not.)
Just over two dozen Democratic members of Congress spoke, including Maxine Waters of California, Chuck Schumer of New York, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Jamie Raskin of Maryland.
The members said that right before they spoke, they tried entering the Treasury building, but were denied for not having an appointment. The demonstrators were also angry at the congress members, chanting “do your job” at multiple points in the event. Seemingly confused, some members of congress joined in the chants directed at them.
Media had begun setting up in the plaza on the northern side of the building, which faced the main entrance, a bit after 3PM. However, we were removed from the plaza at 3:30 without given a clear reason for why. The protest lasted two hours, from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM. The speeches were about 90 minutes in total, after which the crowd dispersed into the night.
