Senate Democrat Threatens Government Shutdown Over Trump’s ‘So Clearly Illegal’ Actions to ‘Dismantle the Government’
Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) said Sunday he is willing to shut down the government if it prevents President Donald Trump and Elon Musk from trying to “dismantle” it.
Kim joined NBC’s Kristen Welker on Sunday’s edition of Meet the Press where the pair discussed Musk’s use of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to target federal jobs and entire agencies.
On behalf of the White House, Musk has spent weeks targeting USAID, FEMA, the Treasury, and other agencies – drawing strong opposition from Democrats.
Kim told Welker he and other Senate Democrats were prepared to shutter the government if it meant saving it from annihilation:
WELKER: Okay. You take me to my next question. Because your colleague Jeff Merkley basically said he’s prepared to try to shut down the government over some of these sledgehammer actions that he’s seeing by Elon Musk. Are you prepared to shut down the government to join Democratic colleagues who want to stand in the way of keeping the government open?
KIM: Well, you have to look at what the Trump administration is doing right now. They are simply trying to.
WELKER: Is that yes?
KIM: They are simply trying to dismantle the government. So yes, look, if we have to take steps to be able to hold them accountable, use the leverage that we have to force it, I cannot support efforts that will continue this lawlessness that we’re seeing when it comes to this administration’s actions. And for us to be able to support government funding in that way only for them to turn it around to dismantle the government, that is not something that should be allowed.
WELKER: So just to be clear, Senator, you are open to voting yes to shut down the government to make this point?
KIM: This is on them. This is about whether or not they can get the votes. They are the majority. And if they cannot govern then, you know, that’s for the American people to see. But I’ve worked in government. I’ve worked through multiple government shutdowns. I would be the last person to want to get to that stage. But we are at a point where we are basically on the cusp of a constitutional crisis seeing this administration taking steps that are so clearly illegal. And until we see a change in that behavior we should not allow and condone that, nor should we assist in that.
Watch above via NBC News.
