The Pittsburgh-area congresswoman made the remarks at a town hall event last week.
Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) called for Democrats to take “bolder action” against President Donald Trump’s agenda at a town hall event last Thursday in Pittsburgh. Lee fielded questions from constituents on Trump’s policy changes since taking office for a second term in January, most notably on education and housing. At the event, Rep. Lee accused Trump and Republicans of seeking Medicaid and Social Security cuts, although no such cuts have been featured in any government funding legislation to date. The event took place in a minority area of Pittsburgh and is a reported stronghold for Democrats.
Speaking about Trump and Elon Musk’s new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, Lee did not hold back on her criticisms of the President or her own party. “The entire Democratic party has to do better right now,” Lee said. “We have to decide at this moment what masters we are going to serve, and the reality is that we cannot serve two masters. We cannot be the party of our own corporate billionaires and the party of working-class people at the same time.” Lee spoke for about 10 minutes taking handwritten questions from members of the audience, addressing what she views as the top concerns. The Progressive “Squad” member touched on Elon Musk, billionaires in positions of power, tax breaks for wealthy Americans and big businesses, and cuts to spending and DEI championed by President Trump and Republicans.
While Lee criticized Republicans and called for her colleagues across the aisle to “grow a spine”, she urged her own party to revive its fight against billionaires and corporate America started by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in his unsuccessful 2016 presidential bid. She took a veiled shot at Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for not opposing a Republican-led bill that would have allowed for a government shutdown if not passed.
Several times, Lee accused President Trump of being an authoritarian and targeted her comments to both parties needing to oppose the President. “The reality is we cannot have a dictatorship unless the Republicans in the House and the Senate say and give up their power as a co-equal branch of government. And we need to be putting pressure on them to remind them of why we are a co-equal branch of government. That’s what it takes.” Lee further accused Trump’s “unilateral” effort to eliminate the Department of Education as symbolizing Trump’s “dictatorial” regime.
While Lee urged Republicans to fear Donald Trump, she called on the GOP to take greater heed of activists. “Right now, they’re trying to decide if they’re more afraid of Donald Trump or if they’re more afraid of you, and what we need to say is that you need to be more afraid of us,” Lee said. She called on Democrats to increase their opposition to President Trump, as well as for more organized demonstrations and activism from her party.
“We need to welcome that, we need to encourage that, and we need to support it, and we need to lift it up, and we need to amplify it,” Lee said. She further accused Trump of targeting veterans with his efforts to scale back DEI programs that he blamed on the Biden administration, though she did not specify how the two were connected.
