WASHINGTON − Groups opposed to actions by the Trump administration in recent weeks converged on cities Wednesday across the U.S. to loudly register their discontent, days after widespread rallies and street marches against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
In Washington, two protests near the U.S. Capitol drew hundreds bearing signs and thunderous voices. The protesters marched from streets around the Capitol to the Department of Labor building on Constitution Avenue − where Elon Musk’s DOGE officials were visiting for the day. Musk, a staunch Trump ally, has been executing Trump’s cost-cutting initiative to reduce the size of the U.S. government.
Cars passing by the marchers honked in a show of support.
Earlier in the day, several hundred people gathered outside the Capitol for a demonstration against Trump’s efforts to diminish the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Rallygoers bundled up in puffy winter coats, hats, and gloves held up signs against Trump.
“Don’t let democracy die,” “Elon cheats on video games,” “Checks and balances make America great,” some of the signs read. Demonstrators also chanted at Democratic lawmakers who spoke at the rally, telling them, “Do your job!”
Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine said Democrats plan to fight the new policies in court, in state legislatures, and in Congress. Fellow Virginia Sen. Mark Warner urged protesters to take their concerns to GOP lawmakers as well.
“Don’t just show up here,” Warner said. “We are only going to break this when we have Republicans willing to stand up as well. Put the pressure not just on us but on everyone, every elected official.”
Trump has signed a flurry of executive orders and taken other actions since his Jan. 20 inauguration to remake and reduce the size of America’s 2.2 million-strong federal workforce. Diversity programs have been targeted; government web pages have been scrubbed of gender references.
Trump accuses USAID of being ‘corrupt’: Implies the agency’s days are numbered
New Yorkers opposed to the policies of President Donald Trump protest outside the Midtown Manhattan office of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer on Feb. 5, 2025. The protest coincided with similar one scheduled in every state in the nation.
Developments:
∎ New Yorkers protested outside the Midtown Manhattan office of Sen. Charles Schumer, carrying signs such as “It’s a coup, where R you?” and “Chuck, show us pluck.”
∎ Protesters in Chicago were to rally in Daley Plaza and lobby Democratic Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin of Illinois to block Trump’s efforts.
Musk the target of ire from Austin protesters
Many of Musk’s fellow residents in Austin, Texas, vociferously expressed their disapproval of the multibillionaire at a protest Wednesday in front of the state Capitol and a march through downtown Austin.
Thousands participated in the demonstration against Trump’s attempts at remaking the federal government and the country’s immigration system, and a large number took issue with Musk and his associates at the Department of Government Efficiency.
The clamor from the rally could be heard from inside Capitol offices and the Senate chamber as protesters chanted, “No more Musk, stop the coup,” “Reclaim our county, take back our rights,” “All are welcome here.”
Musk has brought numerous jobs to Texas by moving the headquarters of some of his businesses to the state, including Tesla and SpaceX, but his work in reshaping sections of the government has drawn a strong backlash.
“Elon Musk has your number,” said one sign, a reference to DOGE gaining access to federal employee data.
− Bayliss Wagner, Austin American-Statesman
Demonstrator in Michigan: ‘I would love for this movement to grow’
Protesters in Lansing, Michigan, navigated the icy lawn in the state capitol and enjoyed encouragement from nearby drivers who honked in support.
They waved signs saying “Stop Project 2025,” and “Dump Trump” and “End the Plague of Facism,” among many others. Musk and his team at Trump’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency were a popular target on protesters’ signs.
Homemade signs showed the breadth of issues that drew the demonstrators together: corporate greed, immigration, women, and LGBTQ+ rights.
“Even if this doesn’t have a tangible impact, it’s still the right thing to do,” said Mia Foster, 32, of St. Joseph, Michigan. “I would love for this movement to grow but I think people are scared for their lives.”
Foster told The Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, that she remains afraid. “I’m trans so I see the rhetoric coming, and I genuinely believe that it’s going to be mass slaughter. I don’t see a way that rhetoric like calling us monsters and pedophiles doesn’t end in that.”
Foster said she took some comfort in being a part of the crowd. “I still feel the anxiety but just knowing I’m not alone is helpful,” Foster added.
– Ken Palmer and Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press
Some Oregon protestors travel through snow
Around 400 people gathered at the Oregon State Capitol State Park shouting chants like “This is what democracy looks like,” “No justice, no peace,” and “Hey hey, ho ho, Elon Musk has got to go.”
Demonstrators also held signs saying “Dump Trump,” “Love thy neighbor,” “Stop the coup” and “Make sense not chaos.” Passing drivers honked in support and shouted out the window, prompting cheers from the growing crowd.
Monika Katz traveled through the snow from southern Oregon to Wednesday’s protest. She said the weather didn’t give her any hesitation.
“My group drove up hours through the snow because Project (2025) scared us,” Katz told the Salem Statesman Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network. “It targets our immigrants, our Native Americans, our Indigenous people, women and children, and it’s unsafe, and we’re here to stop it.”
Kathleen Krauss, 64, said she and her husband Evan Krauss learned about the protest Wednesday morning on Bluesky. She said they are both retired from civil service jobs and felt it was their “duty” to come.
Krauss, trained as a history teacher, said her earliest political memories are of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. She said she is disturbed by the administration’s direction.
“This is the most endangered our country has ever been,” Kraus said.
— Isabel Funk and Whitney Woodworth, Salem Statesman Journal
California demonstrator hopes protests will raise awareness
Hundreds of residents in Coachella Valley, California, joined the thousands of people protesting Wednesday against Trump and his policies, the Desert Sun, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported.
At least two protests — one criticizing Trump’s immigration policies and another condemning his administration’s actions more broadly — were held in Cathedral City and Palm Desert, respectively.
Holding a large sign that read “Not my president,” Don Nowak said he heard about the protest a day before and came out “to stand up for our rights and our democracy.” The Palm Desert resident said he was specifically concerned about Musk having access to government data as well as steps taken at the FBI and the Department of Justice since Trump took office.
Nowak was hopeful that the protest and others like it will prompt more people to begin to see the everyday impacts of the new administration’s actions.
“A lot of people don’t have the time or energy to even pay attention to the news, so they have to see their fellow residents stand up and say something,” Nowak said. “Maybe they’ll go, ‘Wait a minute. Maybe I need to pay attention to that.'”
— Tom Coulter and Ani Gasparyan, Palm Springs Desert Sun
‘Vote them out,’ crowd chants in Columbia, South Carolina
About 300 people demonstrated outside the South Carolina state Capitol in Columbia on Wednesday, many of them chanting “Vote them out” in protest of the Trump administration policies, the Greenville News, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported.
The central theme among speakers and participants was their opposition to Trump’s adoption of far-right proposals from the conservative Project 2025 policy handbook, after distancing himself from them during the presidential campaign.
Melanie Trimble, a therapist and activist from Columbia, said she attended the rally as an ally of people who live in fear.
“I have friends who are afraid about healthcare and housing, food, their children’s education, going to college, whether they’ll be attacked in the street,” she said. “I’m here … trying to make our government work for all of us.”
− Terry Benjamin II and Alex Hicks Jr., Greenville News
Focus on local action, speaker tells Pennsylvania protesters
In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, protesters outside the state Capitol on Wednesday denounced the Trump administration, Project 25, and Musk as they waved rainbow banners and American flags. One sign called for Trump’s impeachment − a little over two weeks after he returned to the Oval Office.
State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta emphasized the importance of local action in a speech, urging those in attendance to focus on city councils, school boards, and politicians in Washington.
“There is no one, and I mean it, no one, coming to save us,” the Philadelphia Democrat said. “But here is the good news, my friends: We are going to save ourselves.”
− Bethany Rodgers, Beaver County Times
Iowans denounce assault on DEI, mass deportations
Demonstrators in the Iowa capital of Des Moines chanted “never again” as hundreds assailed Trump’s assault on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and his plans for mass deportations.
What had been a peaceful demonstration devolved in the afternoon when four protesters were taken out of the Iowa Capitol in handcuffs after interrupting a scheduled Moms for Liberty event in the building’s rotunda.
Des Moines lawyer Ben Lynch told the crowd to continue standing up against Trump during his four-year term.
“The rule of law is abandoned right now so we need to use our voices and all stand together, because marches and rallies like this is what gets people together,” Lynch said through a bullhorn.
− Sabine Martin, Des Moines Register
From North Carolina to DC, one protester vows to ‘be the Tiananmen tank guy’
Stewart Rabitz, 70, drove up from his home in Wake Forest, North Carolina, early Wednesday to attend the protest outside the U.S. Capitol. Rabitz isn’t new to the anti-Trump protest circuit − he’s been hitting the streets since the early days of Trump’s first term and said he’s faced off against the Proud Boys.
This time feels different, Rabitz said, because of the quick pace of Trump’s executive orders. The sentiment among the opposition to Trump has also changed.
“I think a lot of people are now realizing that walking around with signs, people got to get their hands dirty,” he said.Asked whether he feared retribution, Rabitz said: “You can’t be afraid. I’m willing to be the first one. I’ll be the Tiananmen tank guy.”
Protesters at the U.S. Capitol target Project 2025 and President Donald Trump’s executive orders on Feb. 5, 2025.
Protests planned in every state
The 50501 Movement − 50 states, 50 protests, one day − planned demonstrations “supporting the free expression of regular Americans’ dissatisfaction with the embrace of Project 2025.”
Project 2025 is a lengthy list of proposals that would expand presidential power and impose an ultra-conservative social vision. Protest organizers say Project 2025 seeks to target marginalized groups, heighten surveillance, restrict reproductive rights and slash funding for crucial services such as education and health care while dismantling “the freedoms we cherish.”
The 50501 group is also opposed to Trump’s executive orders such as cracking down on illegal immigration and pardoning people involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Columbus protesters take issue with Trump, Musk
Trump’s policies and Musk’s government-slashing efforts were at the heart of a demonstration that drew hundreds Wednesday to the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
Protesters carried signs with messages like, “Worst. President. Ever” and “I want my privacy back − arrest Elon Musk!”
Several of Trump’s initial executive actions zeroed in on immigrants, as he revoked Temporary Protected Status for more than 300,000 Venezuelans and sought to end birthright citizenship.
“As a refugee to this country, naturalized, I recognize how lucky I am to have that security,” Katja Ryabtseva, who hails from Azerbaijan, told the newspaper. “I can’t sit at home knowing that there are families, children out there trying to get documentation again and are going to be kicked out.”
− Donovan Hunt, Columbus Dispatch
‘Deport Elon’: Signs, Mexican flags at Denver rally
Several hundred people demonstrated outside the Colorado Capitol building in downtown Denver on Wednesday afternoon, some waving Mexican flags, according to local media reports, which later said the protest grew into the thousands in the evening.
One person held a sign that said “Deport Elon” in reference to Musk, a native of South Africa who is leading Trump’s efforts to slash the size of the federal government. Another carried a sign reading “We are all immigrants.”
Trump has targeted the Denver suburb of Aurora, saying it has been taken over by Venezuelan gangs.
− Trevor Hughes
Lawyer, nurse among those taking time off work to protest
Several attendees took off work to attend the USAID and 50501 rallies that converged outside the Capitol.
Ravenna Romack, a lawyer and military spouse, said she protested on the Capitol steps every day this week. Romack, 40, said she’s most concerned about Musk’s growing power in the federal government and his team circumventing Congress.
“People are feeling galvanized right now because it’s become personal,” said Romack, who saw Wednesday’s protest as a continuation of the resistance movement against Trump that has existed for years.
Nathan Alexander, a 32-year-old military veteran, stood at the edge of the crowd with a cart filled with first aid materials, water, granola bars, hand warmers, and flask masks. Alexander said he works as a nurse at a hospital in Maryland but opted Wednesday to provide emergency service to anyone who needed it at the rally. He said he paid for all the supplies with his own money.
“That’s how important it is to me to make sure that everybody knows … we’re all in this together,” said Alexander, who was wearing a rainbow pin. “Rising tides raise all ships.’’
AFL-CIO rallies against Musk’s labor actions
One of the nation’s largest labor unions, the AFL-CIO, rallied Wednesday at the Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., concerned Musk and his team may target the department next.
Users shared posts about the rally on social media, including on the Reddit section where Wednesday demonstrations across the nation were organized.
“Working people deserve a STRONG Department of Labor that works for them, NOT for billionaires and corporate CEOs,” the AFL-CIO said in a post on the X platform, which Musk owns.
Among the speakers at the rally were AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler; Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, a Democrat; and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat who represents D.C.
“This is where the movement begins, this is where the fight begins,” Markey said.
− Krystal Nurse
Contributing: Bonnie Bolden, Mississippi Clarion Ledger; Lori Comstock, USA TODAY NETWORK; Seth Harrison/The Journal News
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Anti-Trump protests updates: Rallies planned in all 50 states today
