Huge crowds gather in ‘Hands Off’ rallies nationwide in protest of Trump administration
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(WASHINGTON) — Tens of thousands of protesters mustered in cities and towns across the country on Saturday to sound off against the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal government and its polices.
Carrying homemade posters and chanting “Hands Off,” the protesters came out to the more than 1,200 rallies nationwide despite rain in many cities, according to organizers.
Several Democratic heavyweights, including some members of Congress, joined the protests and urged the public not to stand for what they called the administration’s mismanagement and breaking with constitutional norms.
“Our founders wrote a Constitution that did not begin with ‘We the dictators,'” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., told the crowd gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
He slammed the administration for several of its policies, including President Donald Trump’s implementing of tariffs on nearly every country.
“Their tariffs are not only imbecilic — they’re illegal, they’re unconstitutional, and we’re going to turn this around,” he said.
Paul Osadebe, a lawyer for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, spoke during the rally in Washington and said he’s been asked by the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to take a buyout offer.
Osadebe, a union steward with AFGE Local 476, told the crowd the oligarchs do not “value you or your life or your community.”
“We’re seeing that they don’t care who they have to destroy or who they have to hurt to get what they want,” he said.
Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., echoed his statement with a warning that it will get worse.
“They would have us believe if we gave them all of control, everything would be OK,” he said. “But breaking news, they have the control, and look at where we are now: massive inequality across the country.”
Similar energy and rhetoric were present at other “Hands Off” protests.
“The federal administration thinks this country belongs to them — and that they’re above the law,” organizers of the Boston rally said. “They’re taking everything they can get their hands on — our rights, our health care, our data, our jobs, our services — and daring the world to stop them.”
There were no reports of any major disturbances or arrests at any of the rallies.
The White House did not have any immediate comment about the events.
Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said Sunday that Republicans forced Democratic lawmakers to choose between supporting a continuing resolution or a government shutdown, which would have allowed them to further slash the federal government.
He told ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz that in past shutdowns, the executive branch has advocated for the government to reopen, but President Donald Trump’s administration would have taken advantage of one.
“With these MAGA extremists in charge, they don’t necessarily want to come out of shutdown, and they have tools in shutdown contingencies and nonessentialness determinations and riffing and things like that that they can use to destroy the government, just like doggy DOGE is doing, except with a veneer of legitimacy, with the authority of shutdown powers,” Whitehouse said in an exclusive interview.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and nine others in the Democratic caucus voted with Republicans to pass the continuing resolution. Whitehouse voted against it.
Schumer’s support sparked backlash among Democrats, with many calling for a change in leadership.
Here are additional highlights from Whitehouse’s interview:
On the dangers of shutdown
“When you understand how dangerous a shutdown is, it’s even more, sort of, understandable why they would feel that way. And so I think what we need to do is stop the intramural fighting and bleeding as quickly as we can. We are in a fight for our democracy right now, and if we’re having a fight in our dugout, we’re not out on the field, and the other team is scoring runs.”
On what Democrats need to do
“They were both extremely, extremely dangerous options, and my view is that as Democrats, we need to stop the intramural quarreling about who voted what way and get back to work saving our democracy.”
On Democrats who voted for the continuing resolution
“I think that [Schumer] and the other nine colleagues of mine who made that decision made a very conscientious and principled decision after a lot of reflection. I’m not going to throw any of them under the bus for the choice that they made. When you understand how dangerous a shutdown is, it’s even more sort of understandable why they would feel that way.”
On House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ non-answer on Senate Democrats needing new leadership
“That is not my agenda. That is not a helpful narrative right now. I think that obviously there is a lot of distress, back and forth, between the House and the Senate. That is not unheard of before. And one can read Leader Jeffries’ answers as basically, ‘Look, move on, I’m not going to dwell on internal infighting among Democrats,’ and not necessarily like ‘I’m throwing Schumer under the bus.’ They’ve known each other a long time. They’re experienced politicians. We need to pull this back together and get back to work.”
(LITTLE ROCK, Ark.) — Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the state’s entire GOP congressional delegation are urging President Donald Trump to reconsider after the Federal Emergency Management denied the state’s request for federal disaster relief following a series of deadly storms last month.
After severe storms hit the state in mid-March, Sanders applied for disaster relief through FEMA, under what’s known as a major disaster declaration. The request was denied.
“As Governor Sanders noted in her request, these storms caused catastrophic damage across the state, resulting in disastrous amounts of debris, widespread destruction to homes and businesses, the deaths of three Arkansans, and injuries to many more,” the state’s two Republican senators and four GOP House members wrote in an April 21 letter to Trump. “Given the cumulative impact and sheer magnitude of destruction from these severe weather events, federal assistance is vital to ensure that state and local communities have the capabilities needed to rebuild.”
This isn’t the first time FEMA has denied state requests recently. Earlier this month, Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson, of Washington, said FEMA had denied his state’s application for federal disaster relief stemming from a “bomb cyclone” that slammed the state last November.
“This is another troubling example of the federal government withholding funding,” Ferguson said in a statement. “Washington communities have been waiting for months for the resources they need to fully recover from last winter’s devastating storms, and this decision will cause further delay. We will appeal.”
FEMA also denied a request from North Carolina’s Democratic Gov. Josh Stein to extend 100% federal funding for debris removal related to last fall’s devastating Hurricane Helene beyond an initial 180-day timeline.
However, the situation in Arkansas marks the first time that Republicans have publicly pushed back on a denial of FEMA relief requests.
Sanders served as the White House press secretary during Trump’s first term.
ABC News has requested comment from FEMA about why Arkansas’ request was denied.
During a visit in January to parts of North Carolina still left battered by Helene, Trump sharply criticized FEMA and suggested states could manage disaster relief better than the federal government.
“You want to use your state to fix it and not waste time calling FEMA,” he said. “And then FEMA gets here and they don’t know the area. They’ve never been to the area, and they want to give you rules that you’ve never heard about. They want to bring people that aren’t as good as the people you already have. And FEMA has turned out to be a disaster.”
In January, Trump issued an executive order creating a review council to examine the agency and make recommendations for overhauling it.
Trump administration border czar Tom Homan criticized Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s trip to El Salvador to visit deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia, accusing the Democrat of traveling “on the taxpayer dime to meet with an MS-13 gang member, public safety threat, [and] terrorist.”
“What concerns me is Van Hollen never went to the border the last four years under Joe Biden,” Homan said in a Friday interview with “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl that aired Sunday. “What shocks me is he’s remained silent on the travesty that happened on the southern border. Many people died, thousands of people died.”
In a separate interview on “This Week,” Van Hollen, D-Md., responded to Homan’s criticism, saying that he has long supported fighting gang violence.
“[Homan] is lying through his teeth on many places in that — in that record. And I have been actually fighting MS-13, probably longer than Donald Trump ever uttered the name MS-13. For 20 years in this region, I helped stand up the anti — you know, gang — anti-gang task force. But the idea that you can’t defend people’s rights under the Constitution and fight MS-13 and gang violence is a very dangerous idea. That’s the idea the president wants to put out. That’s why they’re spreading all these lies.”
Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native who was residing in Maryland, was deported to El Salvador’s notorious mega-prison in March. The White House alleges he is member of the MS-13 gang, which was designated as a “foreign terrorist organization” by the administration; his attorneys and family deny he’s affiliated with the gang.
Abrego Garcia received a protective court order in 2019 barring him from being deported to El Salvador due to fear for his safety. In a court filing, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has acknowledged he should not have been sent to El Salvador, calling it an “administrative error.” The Supreme Court has upheld an order saying the administration must “facilitate” his return to the U.S.
Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador last week and met with Abrego Garcia, whose wife is a U.S. citizen and constituent of Van Hollen’s, on Thursday after initially being denied access to him.
Van Hollen stressed that for him, this case is about protecting constitutional rights, telling Karl, “I am not defending the man. I’m defending the rights of this man to due process.”
But Homan defended the administration’s actions so far, arguing that under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, which the administration invoked to deport hundreds of Venezuelan migrants including Abrego Garcia, due process rights are more limited.
“I stand by the fact I think we did the right thing here. We removed a public safety threat, a national security threat, a violent gang member from the United States,” Homan said. “We have followed the Constitution. We have followed the law. I am confident that everything we’ve done is follow laws within the constitutional constructs, absolutely.”
He continued, “The length of due process is not the same under the Alien Enemies Act. That’s why the Alien Enemies Act was created. President Trump invoked the authorities he had under the Alien Enemies Act, an act written and passed by Congress and signed by a President. We’re using the laws on the books.”
Homan’s defense of the centuries-old law in his Friday interview came just hours before the Supreme Court temporarily halted its use to deport any Venezuelans being held at a facility in northern Texas.
Karl pressed Homan on the due process rights of the deported undocumented immigrants, citing the 1993 Flores v. Reno Supreme Court opinion authored by conservative Justice Antonin Scalia that noted, “It is well established that the Fifth Amendment entitles aliens to due process of law in deportation proceedings.”
“Are you saying that by invoking the Alien Enemies Act that undocumented immigrants are not entitled to those due process rights under the Fifth Amendment?” Karl asked.
“We’re following the rules of the Alien Enemies Act. Again, I think this administration has followed the law. They’re using statutes enacted by Congress, signed by a president, to remove terrorists from this country. I’m not saying, you know — I’m not saying, I’m not arguing right here that nobody should get due process. I’m just saying there’s a different process under the Alien Enemies Act, and less of a process than you see through Title 8,” Homan said, referring to the immigration statute typically used to deport undocumented immigrants.
Homan also denied that any migrant is being labeled a gang member solely because of tattoos. On Friday, Trump posted a photo on social media of what he says is Abrego Gracia’s hand. The MS-13 symbols appear to be superimposed and it’s not clear if the other tattoos have any link to the gang.
“Tattoos are one of many factors that’s going to determine someone’s in a gang. That’s not the only one,” Homan said. “What I’m saying is you can’t ignore a tattoo. That’s, that’s one more factor that leads you to believe maybe it’s a gang member. It’s just not based on tattoos. It’s based on a lot of other things, but tattoos, one of many. But no one’s removed just because of a tattoo.”
