Andy Kim, a U.S. Senator (Democrat, New Jersey), held a press conference on the 8th (local time) targeting Asian media outlets at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. Washington/Kim Yujin, special correspondent.
Andy Kim, the first Korean-American to enter the U.S. Senate, suggested the possibility of a temporary government shutdown on the 9th (local time) in opposition to efforts led by U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), to dismantle federal agencies, including USAID.
In an NBC broadcast, Senator Kim criticized the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle not only USAID but also the Department of Education and FEMA as “blatantly illegal acts.”
Kim indicated he would not cooperate with the Republicans to pass a budget by the deadline of the 14th of next month, even if it risked a shutdown. He stated, “If we need to take measures we can hold accountable, we should use our influence to prevent this,” adding, “We cannot support the illegal activities we are witnessing from the Trump administration.”
Politico, a political news outlet, pointed out, “Even though the Republicans hold the majority in both houses, they still likely need to rely on the Democrats to pass the spending bill and avoid a shutdown by March 14th.”
Senator Kim remarked, “What we have seen from the Trump administration last week is the retreat of America from the world,” and warned that “it will lead to more global conflicts and require the deployment of our military.”
Senator Kim has previous experience working as an intern at USAID during his college years. He criticized the Trump administration, saying, “They only tried to demonize USAID. Elon Musk’s comment comparing USAID to a criminal organization is wrong and frankly insulting.”
He also commented that “with the dismantling of USAID, China no longer even needs to fight to exert influence globally,” arguing that “our dismantling efforts have effectively worked in China’s favor.”