Hundreds of New Yorkers gathered outside the central Brooklyn office of Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. D-N.Y., on Thursday to demand that the minority leader put up more forceful opposition to the administration of President Donald Trump and his billionaire benefactor, Elon Musk.

“Hakeem Jeffries, where’s the firewall? Where’s your plan B? While Musk and his Musketeers are digitally destroying our democracy, you’re making speeches. While our democracy is being decapitated you’re issuing press releases,” Ken Scheles, an organizer with Food and Water Watch, said in a speech. “I don’t see you.”

Protesters rallied in frigid weather for an hour, beginning at noon, demanding that Jeffiries and congressional Democrats refuse to vote for the upcoming Republican budget proposal and use every lever of power at their disposal to oppose the administration’s gutting of the federal workforce. Beyond action, however, protesters also expressed disappointment with the communication from leadership in Congress.

One protester, Ed Goldman, told Salon that he was there to he was there to let Jeffries know that his “leadership of the opposition has been weak.”

“Jeffries and the Democratic Party writ large, as opposition to Trump, is legalistic and formalistic. It assumes that everything in the country before Trump was okay, pretty much, and if we just got back to where we were it would be fine again,” Goldman said. “I don’t think that they speak to the deep mistrust of the population of government."

Charlie Worthheimer, another protester, said that he hoped “it’s possible, with enough pressure” that Jeffries can be moved to take bolder action against the Trump administration.

Protesters outside Rep. Hakeem Jeffries' Brooklyn office. (Russell Payne)

Another protester, who declined to give their name, said that “Republicans certainly knew how to be obstructionists and speak up when they were in the minority,” and pointed to other Democrats, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, as being more effective in opposition.

“I would like to see people on the steps of Congress every day giving a daily report and talking to people directly,” they said.

Outside his office, people called on Jeffries to come out in support of the removal of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who appears to have struck a deal with Trump and his Justice Department, which has sought to drop the federal corruption charges against Adams without prejudice, meaning they could be brought again at any moment. In exchange, Adams appears to have promised to collaborate with the Trump administration on its immigration enforcement priorities.

Yona Zeitz, an advocacy director for the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice who attended the protest, told Salon that he was concerned about the Adams-DOJ deal, which he described as a “quid pro quo.”

“Adams has made it clear that he’s not willing to protect New Yorkers — he’s willing to sell out New Yorkers," Zeitz said. "He wants to bring ICE back to Rikers, so it’s clear the mayor has chosen self-interest above New Yorkers and so Jeffries should call for his removal right now."

Jeffries, for his part, said earlier this month that he's still "trying to figure out what leverage we actually have" as Democrats in the minority.

“What leverage do we have? Republicans have repeatedly lectured America — they control the House, the Senate and the presidency. It's their government,” Jeffries said at a press briefing.

The Democratic leader has suggested his eye is on the 2026 midterms and how Democrats can best position themselves to win back Congress.

In response to a request for comment from Salon, Jeffries' office pointed to comments the minority leader made Wednesday night on MeidasTouch, a liberal web show, where he said "I think the American people understandably see all of what I would call diabolical intensity coming from the other side of the aisle."

"We have to not simply match that intensity, but exceed it by enlightened and righteous intensity. We have the high ground on these issues," Jeffries said, later adding: "We have to continue to aggressively push back. It is an all-hands-on-deck effort and it's going to require everyone and we have to lean in with a level of intensity every day, every week, every month, get through the first 100 days, get through the year, get to the midterm elections, and then cut Donald Trump's presidency in half legislatively and begin to turn things around in the United States of America."

Protesters outside Rep. Hakeem Jeffries' Brooklyn office. (Russell Payne)But so far Democrats aren't happy with the performance of Jeffries and others in Democratic leadership, the protest Thursday being just one example of that. A recent Quinnipiac survey found that the approval of congressional Democrats among Democratic voters was underwater, with 49% of Democratic respondents disapproving of how their performance and just 40% expressing approval.

Molly Ornati, an activist with 350 Brooklyn Water, a local environmental organization, told Salon that she thought the minority leader was “not presenting a forceful energy of resistance and outrage to what’s going on.”

“He’s acting as though this is a normal part of the political process, when this is a completely never before seen violation of the Constitution, of federal laws, separation of power, democratic principle — all of the key American values. He’s not standing up with the level of outrage that people meant to see, that Democrats want to see,” Ornati said.

• Democrats bail out Johnson, pass bill that could avert government shutdown
• “It’s time to clean up shop”: Justice Democrats vow primary challenges against establishment Dems
• After the big loss, what's next? An open letter to the Democratic Party