VIDEO: Protestors gather to stop Elon Musk’s 'billionaire takeover'

The Brief Protesters, including Democratic members of Congress gathered to stop Elon Musk's billionaire takeover. Elon Musk recently gained control of the Treasury Department's payment system, raising some concerns.

More than 1,000 protesters gathered outside the Department of Treasury building in downtown Washington on Tuesday evening.

Their chants of "Elon Musk has got to go!" echoed off the building’s marble columns as more than two dozen House and Senate Democrats lined up to speak.

It was the same building where Musk’s team last week gained access to the U.S. Treasury payment system . The system is responsible for 1 billion payments per year totaling $5 trillion and includes sensitive information involving bank accounts and Social Security payments.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer tried to lead a chant of, "We will win." He was quickly drowned out by chants of, "Shut down the Senate!"

Another protest speaker, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said in an interview that no elected Democrat should help Republicans govern in the GOP-controlled House, even if that leads to a government shutdown.

"I don’t know that there’s anything in modern day history that comes close to the moment we’re in," Crockett said. "As we typically say in the Black community, the hoods are off."

In the Senate, some Democrats said they would break personal tradition and oppose all of Trump’s remaining Cabinet nominees.

"I plan to oppose every cabinet level nominee that is considered on the Senate floor going forward," said Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del. "The administration has carried out unlawful budget freezes, massive civil servant layoffs and unconstitutional firings, directed federal funding specifically to places with ‘higher birthrates,’ allowed an unelected and unchecked billionaire to determine what our tax dollars are worthy of funding, and more."

"This is unacceptable and dangerous," Blunt Rochester added.

The growing outcry from Democrats extends well beyond Washington, where some rank-and-file Democrats are upset that their representatives in Congress are not doing enough.

Ezra Levin, who leads the Democratic activist group Indivisible, said that 50,000 people joined a call on Sunday to pressure senators to take a tougher stand against Musk. He was pleased that Democrats in Washington seem to have rallied since last week’s unilateral grant freeze, but he contends that the party can take more steps, especially in the Senate.

"We don’t even have them issuing ongoing opposition to Trump’s nominees while a coup is happening," Levin said on Tuesday, noting 22 Senate Democrats voted to confirm Trump’s nominee for secretary of veterans affairs, Doug Collins. "This isn’t about any individual program, this is about whether we have a constitution.

A major focus of the D.C. protest was to unite and fight to "get Musk’s hands off our money and stop the Musk takeover,' according to the rally flyer.

This comes just days after Musk managed to gain access to sensitive databases and dismantle a leading source of humanitarian assistance, according to the Associated Press.

Musk, the world’s richest man, has maneuvered his way into the federal government, with the support of President Donald Trump, for the purpose of cutting spending and pushing out employees. He has been named as a special government employee, which means he is under less strict rules on ethics and financial disclosures than other workers.

DOGE, a Trump administration task force assigned to find ways to reduce federal spending, now has access to a Treasury unit called the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which disburses trillions in payments each year, including Social Security checks and federal salaries, according to the Associated Press.

It is being reported that Republicans stand behind the administration's decision and defend Musk as simply carrying out Trump’s slash-and-burn campaign promises.

"Elon can’t do and won’t do anything without our approval," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday.