Top congressional Democrats on military, intelligence and foreign policy matters on Tuesday accused President Trump and Elon Musk of gravely undermining national security by aligning with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and dismantling the federal security work force at a perilous time.
“Since taking office a little more than a month ago, the president has alienated nearly every international partner and ally we have, leaving us isolated in an increasingly dangerous world as Russia, North Korea, Iran, and China work together,” said the blistering statement signed by eight leading Democrats in the Senate and the House.
The statement, written by lawmakers who are typically more restrained in their comments given their sensitive roles on security issues, contained some of the party’s most pointed criticism yet of Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk just hours before the president was to address a joint session of Congress. It questioned the motives of the two men and argued they were steadily weakening the United States, providing an opening for the nation’s adversaries.
“Make no mistake,” the Democrats wrote, “this is a concerted effort by Trump and Musk to dismantle our system of government and exploit our weakness to consolidate power that benefits the very countries threatening our national security.”
The statement was signed by the top-ranking Democrats on a trio of national security panels: Senators Jack Reed of Rhode Island, of the Armed Services Committee; Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, of the Foreign Relations Committee; and Mark Warner of Virginia, of the Intelligence Committee. Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, another senior member of the foreign relations panel, also signed on.
They were joined by the ranking Democrats on the equivalent committees in the House: Representatives Adam Smith of Washington, of the Armed Services Committee; Gregory Meeks of New York, of the Foreign Affairs Committee; Jim Himes of Connecticut, of the Intelligence Committee. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, the senior Democrat on a special House committee formed to address threats from China, signed on as well.
In the statement, the lawmakers said that Mr. Musk was, under Mr. Trump’s direction, “destroying our federal national security work force, terminating thousands of men and women with deep expertise and a proven commitment to securing our interests around the world.”
”Chaos at our national security departments and agencies does little to promote a secure America,” they added.
The Democrats called on others to join them in voicing strong opposition to the actions of the administration in its first weeks.
“It is time to act for the sake of our national security and the American people we were elected to serve,” the statement concluded.
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