WASHINGTON >> Democratic lawmakers at a rally in Washington to defend USAID soon found themselves under attack for not mustering fierce enough opposition to the Trump administration’s assault on the agency.

“Do your job! Do your job!” the crowd of hundreds chanted at the lawmakers addressing the gathering in a Capitol Hill park Wednesday.

Attendees expressed frustration that the lawmakers hadn’t done more to push back against the attempt by President Donald Trump and ally Elon Musk to shut down the United States Agency for International Development — with billionaire Musk calling it a “criminal organization” that deserved to “die.”

The outpouring of anger dovetails with broader resentment among Democratic voters over the failure of their party’s leadership to mount a meaningful resistance as Republican Trump’s White House has moved to shrink the government workforce, freeze federal funds, boost fossil fuels, vilify diversity initiatives and radically reorient U.S. foreign policy.

Several people at the rally held up signs calling for more forceful opposition to Trump, with one placard simply reading “Democrats do something!”

Democrats have little leverage in the current Congress with Republicans in control, narrowly, of both chambers. Despite some private opposition within the GOP to some of Trump’s actions and cabinet picks, Republican lawmakers have largely been supportive.

Many at the protest on Wednesday were recently laid off as a result of Trump’s unprecedented attack on the world’s leading international development agency, which administered about $43 billion in assistance in fiscal year 2023 for projects ranging from providing emergency food aid, water and sanitation support across Africa to helping Ukrainian civilians after Russian attacks on their energy grid.

So far, more than 50 senior career civil servants leading the agency have been put on leave and hundreds of contractors have lost their jobs. The agency’s website currently says that on Friday all direct-hire staff will be put on leave globally, with a few exceptions, and all USAID personnel overseas are in the process of being recalled within 30 days — a chaotic and sudden process at odds with the orderly rotations of staff normally posted abroad.

It’s unclear how long the agency will still exist, although Democrats have called Trump’s effort illegal and unconstitutional, and have vowed to fight in Congress and the courts. Democratic Senators Brian Schatz and Chris Van Hollen vowed this week to put blanket holds on Trump’s nominees to senior State Department posts until the attack on USAID ends.

One recently laid-off USAID employee, who asked not to be named for fear of not finding another job, said she wanted Democratic lawmakers to do more to stand up for USAID in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Another said they’re still awaiting for the counterpunch from Democrats.

Amid harsh Republican criticism, Democratic lawmakers have tried to focus on how USAID advances U.S. national security interests.

“It’s a gift for our adversaries around the world” to close USAID, Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, told the crowd. “We can have no business as usual in the United States Congress.”

Still, the crowd pushed back.

“Better late than never — thank you!” one person yelled out, a reference to Democratic lawmakers appearing to be on the back foot as Trump’s White House issues a flurry of executive orders, some of which are already being contested in the courts.

“Why’d you vote for Rubio?” another woman yelled, a reference to the unanimous Senate approval for Trump’s pick to be the top U.S. diplomat. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a former Republican senator himself, has accused employees of the agency of “insubordination” and said it may be abolished and subsumed into the State Department.

Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia tried to assure the crowd that he and his colleagues were fighting back.

“There’s a litigation strategy, a state court strategy, a legislative strategy in Congress and a political strategy,” he said, to some cheers. “You’ve seen us succeed in numerous court cases in the last few days, and we’re going to win a whole lot more.”

Reflecting widespread concern in the crowd about all the stalled USAID projects around the world, one person yelled to interrupt him: “How many people will die before those lawsuits get finished?”