By a week into President Donald Trump's second term, political observers were wondering where Democratic lawmakers and voters alike had gone. Instead of a wave of protests — like the 2017 Women's March, attended by 200,000 people — the response to Trump's second inauguration was subdued; instead of vows to fight back, some in the opposition vowed to "work together" with Trump, choosing to confirm his nominees and collaborate on issues like mass deportation.
But after Trump's Office of Management and Budget issued a blanket federal grants suspension and Elon Musk's DOGE team began ferreting its way through federal agencies, outside pressure groups like Indivisible and MoveOn saw both an egregious power-grab and an opportunity to activate the Democratic base.
