This is an adapted excerpt from the Feb. 3 episode of “Inside with Jen Psaki.”
We all have our coping mechanisms for this moment, or at least we’re developing them. Personally, I have settled into wanting to know more about what’s happening and, most importantly, what can be done to stop it. I invite you to join me in this because the more our eyes are wide open, and the more we stop ourselves from looking away, the better we can understand what the levers of power are that can push back on the apparent illegal and unconstitutional actions of Donald Trump’s administration.
The more we know, the more prepared we are to both call it out and call on people in power to do more.
The more we know, the more prepared we are to both call it out and call on people in power — or people aspiring to be in power — to do more, to push harder and to be more creative.
Because what’s happening right now is a hostile takeover of the U.S. government. It’s happening across our justice system, where FBI employees were told to fill out a questionnaire detailing their involvement in Jan. 6 cases by Monday, according to The Washington Post which cited multiple people who reviewed the document. In other words, they were reportedly asked to fill out a loyalty test.
That comes after an unprecedented purge of the FBI on Friday night, when the Trump administration forced out the bureau’s top career officials, multiple field office leaders, and a number of Justice Department prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases, according to current and former FBI officials who spoke to NBC News.
But of course, it’s not just law enforcement bearing the brunt of this — and it’s not even just a hostile takeover at the hands of Trump alone. This takeover is also happening at the direction of his unelected billionaire best friend, Elon Musk.
Musk’s latest target is the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, which not only leads on humanitarian assistance around the world but also works to combat corruption in foreign aid programs.
On Saturday, the agency’s director of security and his deputy were placed on administrative leave after they refused to do Musk’s bidding and tried to prevent employees from his Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, from accessing secure USAID systems, five sources familiar with the events told NBC News.
Employees later received a message ordering them not to come into the office Monday, according to an email obtained by NBC News. They were given no reason, no rationale — just told not to show up.
We are also seeing something similar happening in the Treasury Department. In the last few days, Musk and his DOGE pals have been granted access to the federal payment system that handles paychecks to federal workers, Social Security checks, tax refunds and incredibly sensitive personal information about anyone who gets those payments.
This takeover is also reportedly happening across the Office of Personnel Management, where, as two agency officials tell Reuters, Musk aides have gained unprecedented access to federal human resources databases that house sensitive personal information about millions of federal employees.
Now, I’m going to be straight with you. In the face of all of this, there has not always been the type of clear, consistent and united response from leading Democrats that the moment required. There have been some powerful voices out there, in the confirmation hearings especially, but overall, it’s taken far too long for elected officials to respond. And when they do respond, those responses often aren’t specific or bold enough.
Truthfully, it hasn’t been very clear to the American people what Democrats are doing to push back on this hostile takeover — and that’s a problem. But the good news is, we have started to see some signs of life.
On Monday, Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii said he would place a “blanket hold” on all of Trump’s State Department nominees until his administration’s attack on USAID ends.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York announced that Democrats will introduce legislation to “prevent unlawful access” to the Treasury Department’s payment system. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, is asking committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., to invite Musk to the committee’s hearing on “rightsizing government” later this week. And congressional Democrats held a fiery news conference outside of the USAID building in Washington, D.C. After that news conference, members even tried to get inside the shuttered USAID building. So they’re trying, and that’s some encouraging news. We’re seeing this not just among elected officials, but also among unelected people, those who have spent their careers serving the public and have now found themselves caught in the crosshairs of this hostile takeover. It hasn’t been very clear what Democrats are doing to push back — and that’s a problem. But the good news is, we have started to see some signs of life. At USAID, yes, the director of security and his deputy have been removed, but not before they tried to stop Musk’s people from gaining access to restricted spaces at the agency. At the Treasury Department, a career civil servant was pushed out after he refused to give Musk’s team access to that federal payment system they eventually bullied their way into. And at the FBI, acting Director Brian Driscoll refused a Justice Department order that he assist in the firing of agents involved in Jan. 6 cases, pushing back so forcefully that some bureau officials feared he would be dismissed, current and former FBI officials told NBC News. In a message circulated widely among bureau personnel, one FBI agent summarized what happened like this: “Bottom line — DOJ came over and wanted to fire a bunch of J6 agents. Driscoll is an absolute stud. Held his ground and told WH proxy, DOJ, to F— Off.” Look, when you are fighting against the president of the United States and his billionaire sidekick with a vengeance, you are fighting an uphill battle. But we must recognize that despite this, these people are still fighting and standing up for what is right, even if it means putting their own jobs in jeopardy. And that is important because, at the end of the day, what these past few weeks have made clear is that this takeover will proceed unchecked unless there are efforts to check it. In other words: There is no cavalry coming. You are the cavalry. Elected officials, governors, civil servants and people sitting at home are the only ones who can stop this. Allison Detzel contributed.
Jen Psaki is the host of "The Briefing with Jen Psaki" airing Tuesdays through Fridays at 9 p.m. EST. She is the former White House press secretary for President Joe Biden.
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