Activists to protest GOP Rep. Schweikert weekly until he stops Musk

Monday morning, hundreds of protesters crowded the sidewalks outside the North Scottsdale office belonging to Republican Rep. David Schweikert. For two hours, armed with signs and megaphones, they shouted over traffic for the far-right lawmaker to do his job.

“David Schweikert works for us, not Elon Musk!”

At issue was the ongoing, chaotic dismantling of federal agencies by Musk, the unelected billionaire and Tesla CEO who heads the shady Department of Government Efficiency. Since the inauguration of Donald Trump, Musk’s minions in the so-called DOGE have infiltrated the Treasury Department, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and myriad other agencies, cutting staff and obtaining access to sensitive information while supposedly eliminating waste, fraud and abuse.

In reality, DOGE “employees” have thrown wrenches into the workings of government while operating under a shroud of mystery. Despite promising transparency, Musk and DOGE have shared little about what it is doing. What they do share is often misinformation about government spending they claim to have uncovered.

Democrats have railed against DOGE’s actions, though as the minority in both the House and Senate, they have little ability to stop it. Republicans like Schweikert could — and, considering that Congress alone controls how federal money is spent, should. But so far, neither Schweikert or anyone else in the GOP has shown any interest in asserting their Constitutional prerogative.

That’s why protesters gathered outside Schweikert’s office Monday. Organized by several groups — including Indivisible, Swing Left and North Scottsdale Dems — the protest began at 10 a.m. and will recur every Monday, organizers said.


Organizer Lucy Marshall, who has been a chair with the Maricopa Democratic Party, said she asked Schweikert’s office for a meeting but was denied. If Republicans want to gut state agencies, she said, they should vote to do it themselves rather than handing the reins to Musk. Schweikert is part of “a co-equal branch of the government,” she said, “and he needs to do his job.”

Jane McNamara, 75, agreed.

“He swore an oath of office to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” she said. “We have a domestic enemy in the White House right now.”

Many of the protesters who gathered outside his office Monday were angry about the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development, which funds humanitarian programs across the world.

Founded in 1961, USAID offers polio vaccinations in vulnerable countries, provides treatment and prevention services for HIV/AIDS and has distributed COVID-19 vaccines, among many other efforts. Musk has demonized USAID, calling it a “criminal agency” and pushing to shutter it completely. After the Trump administration has halted all funding — which it does not appear to be constitutionally allowed to do — nearly $500 million in food aid is at risk of spoilage.

That will result in starvation and deaths in vulnerable parts of the world, which protesters contrasted with Schweikert’s pro-life stances. One of the most anti-abortion members of Congress, Schweikert has co-sponsored two bills that would have banned abortion nationwide.

“I don't think letting babies starve while food rots on U.S. ships, in the name of reducing our deficit, is pro-life,” said Marshall.

A Musk fan

It’s not clear that Schweikert was at the office, which is located at 14500 N. Northsight Blvd. in Scottsdale. His office did not respond to a request for comment, and calls to the office went straight to voicemail. Given his history in Congress, he’s unlikely to be the most receptive of lawmakers to the protesters’ demands.

Schweikert is a fiscal conservative who has long advocated for slashing “wasteful government spending,” as he says on his website, and eliminating the deficit. In December, Schweikert met with DOGE — which had still not been officially formed — and later applauded Musk’s influence in Washington, D.C., as “wonderful,” and lauded him as “someone with a high IQ.”

If anything, Schweikert wants Musk and DOGE to do more. Last week, Schweikert spoke on the House floor, arguing that Trump’s and Musk’s plan to reduce the deficit wouldn’t go far enough. “The congressman agrees that many of the solutions probably need to be implemented,” his office said in a press release. “His caveat explains that all of those solutions combined don’t come anywhere close to making a real impact.”

When it comes to USAID, Schweikert was one of 102 Republicans in the House to vote in favor of defunding the agency in 2023. That effort failed, with 114 Republicans joining Democrats to vote against it.

While Schweikert may not be all that persuadable, the protesters who assembled at his office Monday aren’t deterred. He’s the representative they’ve got, so he’s the one they’re going to pressure.

“I want him to stand up for us,” said 47-year-old Christine Taft, who said she’s lived in Schweikert’s district for more than 20 years. “I want him to support the women in his community, understand that we want our children taken care of in our schools.”

That’s why Taft and others have committed to returning to protest every Monday — same time, 10 a.m. — until Schweikert addresses their concerns.

“We’re retired folks now, but we’re back. We need to defend democracy. Every single generation,” McNamara said, before taking the protest to a nearby Tesla dealership. “Come and join us.”