On Saturday, Feb. 8, the Louisville Democrats hosted a rally at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 369 headquarters to protest billionaire Elon Musk’s increasingly prevalent role in the Trump administration.
Congressman Morgan McGarvey, who represents Kentucky’s 3rd congressional district, was the headlining speaker of the event, alongside union and community leaders. The rally was held three days after over 200 people attended a “50 Protests, 50 States 1 Day” protest, dubbed “50501” online, at the Kentucky State Capitol.
“I think you see people energized and irritated. They see what Trump is doing, they see that he’s talking about cutting Medicaid,” McGarvey said.
The IBEW building was packed, with over 500 people in attendance. The crowd chanted “Hey hey! Ho ho! Elon Musk has got to go!” and waved signs. Community members expressed their concerns and outrage at Musk’s unelected role as the new head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“Musk stated he wants to force all federal workers back into the office,” said Sarah Stanfield, Treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 611. “But the reality is that federal workers are more productive, call off less, and have less turnover and get more work done from home.”
On Jan. 8, the administration sent 2 million federal employees buyout offers, requesting they voluntarily resign in exchange for paid leave through September. Amid legal concerns that such actions require congressional approval, a judge temporarily blocked the offer and delayed the offer deadline to Feb. 10.
Threats to the Department of Education were another cause for concern at Saturday’s rally, as the Trump administration continues to attempt to dismantle and eliminate the department.
“Ever since the election, [students] want to talk about it. They’re afraid. They’re afraid of getting deported,” said Dr. Almaria Baker, a Career and Technical Education (CTE) teacher at Iroquois High School.
Kentucky receives over $1 billion in federal grants for education annually, which helps pay for school lunches, teacher training, special education and other critical services. Dismantling the department could put these grants, which make up one in five dollars of Kentucky school district funding, in danger.
“Here in Jefferson County, public schools have 80% of the kids who go to school in Jefferson County. To cut that funding would be disastrous for the education we are trying to provide for our kids,” McGarvey said.
He discussed the lack of transparency within DOGE, given that the department has access to a multitude of different government agency files and data.
“We think that what they’re doing should be subject to the Freedom of Information Act, just like most government agencies. If they’re not doing anything wrong, they shouldn’t be afraid to share,” he said.
Some members of the crowd at Saturday’s rally have already felt the effects of Elon Musk’s actions leading DOGE. Lydia Grossman, a YPAS graduate, works for a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) contractor.
“I just got furloughed from my job because USAID is one of the things Elon basically just gutted unconstitutionally,” Grossman said.
On Monday, Feb. 3, workers at USAID were told to stay home, and by the end of the week nearly all of the agency’s 13,000 employees were placed on administrative leave.
On Feb. 7, a judge placed a limited “temporary restraining order” on the administrative leave of thousands of USAID employees, siding with the workers unions that filed lawsuits against the government.
“The strategy right now is to make sure we are filing legislation to keep these abuses of power from happening,” McGarvey said.
McGarvey referenced a three part plan of “legislation, litigation, and mobilization” about resisting Musk’s power and the current administration. He is co-sponsoring two bills targeting DOGE and Musk.
The first bill McGarvey is co-sponsoring is HR 994, the “Stop Musk Act,” to prohibit retaliation against federal employees who attempt to interfere with unlawful actions made by Elon Musk. The second bill, HR 1101, aims to protect taxpayer data from unlawful access.
The rally comes just days after Congressman James Comer, a Republican representing Kentucky’s 1st congressional district, shut down Democratic calls to subpoena Elon Musk over his new role as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“We hit the streets, we’ll do it again if we have to,” said President of the Kentucky State AFL-CIO Dustin Reinstedler at the rally.
