Group protests against Trump, Musk, asks Utah politicians to protect Medicaid benefits

SALT LAKE CITY — A small but persistent crowd rallied in front of the Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building in Salt Lake City Wednesday in opposition to the Trump administration and to show support for Medicaid.

Organized by Salt Lake Indivisible, the demonstration was the latest in a series of regular showings of opposition. Several dozen protesters held signs criticizing President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the world's richest man and head of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and asked Utah's Republican lawmakers to do more to push back against what they say is an illegal use of presidential power.

"I find myself feeling sick at the cruelty and the unnecessary harm that's being done in this moment," Sarah Buck, the head of Salt Lake Indivisible, told the crowd. "I think as much as we need to be ignited and angry in this moment, we also need to be compassionate and kind. We need to become the allies for the people who are under attack."

"We need to make sure that our elected officials are more afraid of us than Donald Trump and Elon Musk," added Jamie Carter.

While Musk has focused on dismantling agencies in Washington, D.C., protesters expressed concern that the proposed cuts to federal spending could eventually impact recipients of Medicaid, a government-funded health care program for low-income Americans. A recent analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that House Republicans' budget goals would require cuts to Medicaid, but the White House has said it will not cut entitlement benefits.

Buck said she and others met with members of Sen. John Curtis' staff in Salt Lake City earlier Wednesday. She said she requested that the senator hold more town halls throughout the state when Congress is not in session and asked for him to stand up to Trump — a difficult ask, she admitted.

"We also requested that they do their job. They are supposed to be a balance to the president's power, and in this moment, that's not happening," she told KSL.com. "I think (Curtis) is in a difficult position. I don't want to demonize him. I do think it's really a difficult position in time, and we want to support our democracy, and we hope he does, too."

The group has made similar requests of Utah's representatives and Republican Sen. Mike Lee, and Buck said it plans to continue hosting demonstrations and participating in larger protests in the weeks and months ahead.

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