Rep. Becca Balint, center, protests at the Treasury Building in Washington, DC, on Tuesday. Courtesy photo.
“Authoritarians win when we stop paying attention. You have to tune in.”
Vermont Business Magazine Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vermont) on Tuesday joined her colleagues, including Senate leadership and Ranking Member Raskin and others at the Treasury building to call out Musk’s hostile takeover of the US Treasury Department. Members of Congress demanded to speak to the Secretary and conduct oversight of the department but were denied entry.
They said that President Trump has handed over the keys to the federal government and its checkbook to an unelected billionaire. He’s invading financial systems that hold all Americans’ addresses and personal information. This information is used to send out Social Security checks, Medicare reimbursements, and tax refunds–upwards of $5 trillion in transactions a year.
A lawsuit was filed this week against the Department of the Treasury for sharing confidential data with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), run by Elon Musk.
“We need all of you to be our eyes and ears,” Balint urged the crowd of over 1000 gathered in Washington. “Authoritarians win when we stop paying attention. You have to tune in. You have to get the truth out. I know how tired you are. I know it. You are not just doing this for you. You’re doing it for your neighbors who don’t have a pot to piss in. You're doing it for the folks who don’t know if their kids are going to get fed tomorrow. This is not just about us. It’s about everyone. We know the people who did not let us in today, they are not thinking about us. They are only thinking of them.”
View her remarks here.
View photos of the rally here.
Source: 2.5.2025. Rep. Becca Balint (VT-AL)
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