Protesters rally against Elon Musk, DOGE at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne
Hundreds converged in front of SpaceX’s Hawthorne headquarters on Saturday afternoon, March 1, to protest Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency, along with decisions taken by the Trump Administration.
The rally, which crowded both sidewalks along Crenshaw Boulevard, was organized by three democratic organizations: 5051, Indivisible and Westside Democratic HQ. The protest was dubbed “Destruction of Our Government by Elon” – a play on words of Musk’s task force.
“Today, we helped people share their voice,” said Emily W., an organizer with 5051, an ongoing political action organization. “We’re non-violent. but we did prepare for violent counter-protestors, but we didn’t see any today. It’s been peaceful, we hope that it’s been inspiring to folks to keep fighting.”
Protesters held signs addressing an array of issues, from putting a stop to DOGE, protecting trans rights and denouncing President Trump’s and Musk’s actions, among others.
The Department of Government Efficiency was created on Jan. 20 by President Trump, with a mission to slash federal spending. Since then, the task force – led by Musk – has dismissed workers across the federal government.
“I’m here to protest Elon Musk’s takeover of the government,” said Nancy Polikoff, 73, from Marina Del Rey on Saturday. “It’s already affected people I know that have lost their jobs. I also think his entire purpose is self dealing, so he’s going to make sure the agencies that regulate his businesses shut down and he’s going to tamper with government contracts to make sure they all come out in his favor.”
Critics of the task force say that Musk, who runs companies including SpaceX that receive billions in government contracts, could be engaged in work through DOGE that may pose conflicts of interest with his private business.
Democratic lawmakers are also demanding answers from Musk about whether staffers at DOGE have shared national security secrets over insecure communication channels.
For many protestors, their concerns are what these federal cuts in staffing and programs will do to everyday people, especially those part of marginalized communities.
“There has been so much crazy stuff happening that is anti-democratic and not what I think this country was founded for. We’re supposed to be here for immigrants, people of color, and minority groups,” said Zachary McKinnon, 31, from Long Beach. “Musk, he’s not elected, he’s a random billionaire that’s basically raiding our taxes and using them to make his own pocket fuller.”
McKinnon said he was excited to see so many people at the protest, and it made him feel supported. Some of the executive orders that President Trump has signed have personally affected McKinnon as well.
“The Trump administration and the executive orders stopped me from being able to get a passport with my gender that I identify with,” he said. “All the federal programs that are being defunded that help LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, people who want to get ahead in life, people who don’t make that much money or who depend on their Social Security; it’s horrible that they’re taking money from the most needy groups in our country, that’s what our taxes should be going toward.”
Protesters and the organizations that held the rally are hoping to bring more attention to the issues that Musk and DOGE are promoting and encourage others to join in denouncing the Trump administration’s actions.
“I wish that others could see that these people don’t have our best interest in mind,” McKinnon said, “and we need to have leadership that is for the everyday working person and represents us better not just their own interests.”
Trump has said the nation, facing $36 trillion in debt, must cut federal spending.
“We’re cutting down the size of government. We have to,” Trump said during the first Cabinet meeting of his second term. “We’re bloated. We’re sloppy. We have a lot of people that aren’t doing their job.”
Musk has defended DOGE’s work as “common sense” and “not draconian or radical.”
“The people voted for major government reform, and that’s what the people are going to get,” he said. “That’s what democracy is all about.”
Also Saturday, anti-DOGE protests were held at some Tesla stores around the country. Musk is is the automaker’s CEO.
Last year, Musk announced plans to move the headquarters of SpaceX, the space flight company he founded, to Texas.