“We will not take this s*** from Donald Trump and Elon Musk … Let us in!” chanted Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) as she joined dozens of other lawmakers and a large crowd of activists at a protest in the nation’s capital, according to a Patch.com report. https://patch.com/new-jersey/newarknj/we-are-war-nj-congresswoman-denied-entry-treasury-building
McIver, a Democrat representing the state’s 10th District, was one of over 1,000 attendees at the “Nobody Elected Elon” rally in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
The demonstration took place outside the U.S. Department of Treasury building, which has come under intense scrutiny this week after the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) obtained “read-only access” to its payment system codes.
The outcome? The world’s richest man now has access to sensitive data belonging to millions of Americans—without congressional approval.
Trump, however, has insisted that Musk “can’t do and won’t do anything without our approval.”
“Where we think there’s a conflict or there’s a problem, we won’t let him go near it … but he has some very good ideas,” the president said.
But not everyone is convinced. Last week, McIver and several of her congressional colleagues visited the Treasury Department in Washington, aiming to fulfill their oversight responsibilities. However, when they attempted to enter the building, they were told they needed an appointment and were denied entry.
The rejection didn’t sit well with McIver, a former Newark city council president who was elected to her first full term last November.
McIver represents the 10th District, which includes parts of Essex, Hudson, and Union counties. Among the municipalities in her district are Caldwell, East Orange, Essex Fells, Irvington, portions of Montclair and Newark, Orange, Verona, West Orange, as well as parts of Jersey City, Cranford, Garwood, Hillside, Kenilworth, Linden, Roselle, Roselle Park, and Union Township.
“Look, I came here with one simple message just like you all — we will not take this s*** from Donald Trump and Elon Musk,” she told a crowd of protesters and reporters. “So let’s let them know loud and clear to let us in!”
“We will not stand for this, we will fight back,” she continued. “The people always had the power.”
“We are at war,” McIver added. “Anytime a person can pay 250 million dollars to a campaign and be given access to the Department of Treasury of the United States of America, we are at war.”
A group of Democratic lawmakers announced plans to introduce legislation aimed at preventing “unlawful meddling” in the Treasury Department’s payment systems.
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia was among the Republicans who pushed back against the criticism, taking aim at McIver’s remarks at the rally. “This sounds like a call for insurrection to me,” she quipped.
New Jersey Congressman Rob Menendez Jr. (NJ-8) also attended Tuesday’s rally and voiced his concerns about Musk’s influence over federal operations. He wrote:
“Nobody elected Elon Musk, yet Donald Trump has handed him the keys to the federal government. That’s unacceptable. That’s why I joined my colleagues today at the Treasury Department to exercise our oversight authority. Democrats are in this fight because you have sent us here to fight, and that’s exactly what we will do.”
