Two groups of a few dozen demonstrators each gathered at the Denver offices of U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper on Tuesday to urge the Democratic lawmakers to find another gear in their opposition to President Donald Trump’s unprecedented seizure of executive power.

The demonstrations were part of a nationwide organizing effort led by progressive activist group Indivisible, which encouraged members to protest at Republican senators’ offices against the party’s “unconstitutional authoritarian takeover,” while urging Democrats to “recognize the crisis,” maintain blanket opposition to Trump’s cabinet nominees and use a variety of procedural tactics to “grind Senate business to a halt.”

Image

Calls for escalation by Democrats followed days of reports of an aggressive blitz by Trump and Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and a Trump megadonor, to seize control over government functions in ways that run contrary to long-settled constitutional precedent and have raised legal alarm bells across the executive branch.

In addition to a drastic freeze of government aid funding temporarily halted by the courts, actions by the Trump administration and Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency have included a shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development, gaining access to highly sensitive payment systems controlled by the Treasury Department and the attempted purge of thousands of Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and Department of Justice attorneys who handled cases related to the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“We are asking our Colorado senators to step up in the Senate and say no to everything,” said Lisa Witlen, an Indivisible activist, outside Hickenlooper’s office. “Shut it down — do all the procedural things they can do to halt these nominees and do whatever they can do to get rid of Musk.”

Amid growing alarm over Trump and Musk’s actions, both Bennet and Hickenlooper on Monday drew criticism for casting a vote in favor of Denver oil and gas executive Chris Wright’s confirmation as Energy secretary. The senators had jointly announced they would do so after meeting with Wright on Jan. 23. But events over the last two weeks, activists say, should be causing Democratic lawmakers to reconsider their approach.

Image

“Enough is enough,” Witlen said. “I could never have imagined it could be this bad.”

In a statement issued earlier Tuesday, Hickenlooper blasted the administration’s moves as “chaos and headline chasing.”

“Our founders put checks and balances in place for a reason,” Hickenlooper said. “We’re all for making government more efficient, but violating our laws is not the way to do it. We’ll fight these attempts in the courts, on the Senate floor, and anywhere else we can to defend Colorado and the Constitution.”

Indivisible activists have a list of tactics they want to see Hickenlooper and other Senate Democrats bring to such a fight, beginning with total opposition to Trump’s remaining nominees to lead executive branch departments and agencies. They’re also calling for the use of procedural tactics like denying a quorum, blocking unanimous consent and using the maximum time allotted for debate — an approach modeled on tactics used by Republican minorities in previous sessions of Congress.

“The Republicans have done this for a long time, so they’re more versed at it than the Democrats are,” Witlen said. “Voting no is not enough.”

A spokesperson for Hickenlooper didn’t return a request for comment Tuesday. Staffers at his Denver office spoke cordially with activists, encouraging them to continue calling their representatives and promising to relay their concerns.

Around the same time, a similar meeting was being held outside Bennet’s office a mile away. A sign held by one demonstrator read: “Thank you. Now do more.”

“I think everybody here, they want to see the fight,” said organizer Gayle Lieban. “This is scary. This is not normal. (It) seems like a oligarchic takeover of the government is happening before our very eyes, and we want to see the response that shows that kind of understanding.”

Colorado Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com.