Trump’s shock-and-awe administration leaves Democrats scrambling to respond

Published January 28, 2025 3:42pm ET



Democrats are struggling to respond to the sheer volume of executive orders, personnel changes, and policy shifts taking place in the little more than a week since President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Democrats foreshadowed and warned about many of these actions during the campaign cycle. 

Senate Democrats initially planned to hold a press conference on Tuesday morning about a resolution they introduced to condemn Trump for pardoning Jan. 6 defendants who assaulted Capitol Police officers, an action the president took over a week ago. Instead, they were forced to pivot and address a new order from the White House that came down late Monday night that halted all federal grants and loans beginning on Tuesday at 5 p.m. Eastern time. 

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