NJ Congresswoman Explains Controversial Comment On Trump, Musk

NEW JERSEY — It was a metaphor that got twisted by MAGA Republicans. That’s the explanation from U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver in the wake of a controversial comment she made at a recent protest against Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

McIver, who represents New Jersey’s 10th district in the House, made headlines along with other Congress members from across the nation when she attended a “Nobody Elected Elon” rally in Washington D.C. earlier this month.

The demonstration was held outside the U.S. Department of Treasury building. The agency has been thrust into the spotlight after the Musk-helmed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) gained “read-only access” to its payment system codes.

On Feb. 4, McIver and several of her peers in Congress made a trip to the treasury building. Another New Jersey House member, U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez Jr. of the 8th district, also said he attended the rally.

Seeking to perform their congressional “oversight duties,” the federal lawmakers attempted to enter the building, but were told they needed an appointment and turned away.

It didn’t sit well with McIver, a former city council president in Newark who was elected to her first full term last November.

“Look, I came here with one simple message just like you all — we will not take this s*** from Donald Trump and Elon Musk,” she told a crowd of protesters and reporters. “So let’s let them know loud and clear to let us in!”

“We will not stand for this, we will fight back,” she continued. “The people always had the power.”

“We are at war,” McIver added. “Anytime a person can pay 250 million dollars to a campaign and be given access to the Department of Treasury of the United States of America, we are at war.”

Article continues below

McIver’s comments at the rally – particularly her charge of “We are at war!” – were criticized by several conservatives, including U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

“This sounds like a call for insurrection to me,” quipped Greene, who faced similar accusations herself after saying that if she was in charge of the Jan. 6 protest at the U.S. Capitol, “it would've been armed.” Greene later dismissed the comment as “sarcasm.”

Earlier this week, McIver released a video update about her appearance at the rally, including an explanation about her controversial quote.

“One of the things that many folks wanted to pick up, especially from our MAGA Republicans, was that I said ‘We were at war,’” the congresswoman stated.

People took her way too literally, she added.

“I meant that there was a war waging on the people of this society right now,” McIver continued. “There's a war on American people. There's a war on folks that I represent in the 10th congressional district. Whenever you have a situation where [people are] trying to change the constitution at the stroke of a pen, change laws and rules at the stroke of the president's pen, and no matter who is getting hurt on the other end of that – that's a war on the folks that I represent.”

McIver said that other comments such as “fighting all the way to the end” don’t mean she wants people to actually “go out and get a gun… get a knife and fight.”

“That means that I'm going to fight like a grown adult and like a legislator and make sure that we are fighting back against many of the things that [is coming] down the pipeline,” she said.

McIver also commented on the reason she was there in the first place:

“As you know, employees of the Treasury Department were told not to return to get out the data of the Treasury Department. And basically, the control of the Treasury Department was given to Elon Musk, as you know, who was not an elected official, not truly an official employee of the United States. Has not signed any disclosures or signed any confidentiality paperwork or anything. However, was given access to the Treasury Department, which holds some of our most sensitive information, like social security numbers, access to our payment systems just extremely dangerous to give to someone that we have no accountability over. I visited the Treasury Department with many of my colleagues and basically spoke out.”

“People are extremely scared,” McIver continued. “And like I said, this is a war on my constituents. It's a war on you. I represent you, and there's no way that I'm just going to allow this to happen and not fight back. And so definitely, if you're angry, you should be angry, because this is unacceptable, and we can't allow these things to happen.”

Other comments in McIver’s video message this week included:

FEDERAL BUDGET – “Today, we got a proposed budget from our GOP members. Basically, it's like unbelievable to say, but basically proposing a cut to Medicaid by at least $880 billion and also a cut to snap by at least 20% I don't think I need to explain like, why that's problematic. Many people in this nation, but more importantly, in New Jersey benefit from Medicaid. They benefit from SNAP benefits. And these cuts will take away from many folks in the 10th congressional district and in New Jersey, folks will definitely have less funding and support to assist with their families and their households, and people who are already struggling will be struggling even more with these cuts.” See Related: Medicaid Cuts, Billionaire Tax Breaks; NJ Reaction To House Budget

ACTION IN THE COURTS – “As we know, the Treasury Department was trying to be taken over – kudos to the judge who stopped that. I want to give a special shout out to our New Jersey Attorney General [Matthew Platkin], who has been at the helm of many of these lawsuits with many other states fighting back against these very hurtful executive orders that are coming down, and so we are winning in the courts. Many of the things that have been filed have been stopped by judges and are scheduled for later court hearings… And that's what we need at the local level, working together, fighting back against these terrible executive orders.” See Related: NJ Vs. Trump: Where Legal Challenges On Funding, Federal Buyout Stand

USAID – “We also saw that Trump ordered to shutter and close USAID, which is an agency that basically helps fund shelter, medicine and food, both domestically and internationally –definitely a huge problem. It is definitely how we keep good allies internationally. And now that agency is closed… not to mention there is a bunch of supplies and food and things that are at risk of going bad because there's nobody there anymore giving out anything or getting rid of the supplies that are there. Definitely a huge problem.” See Related: Trump Funding Freeze Sends NJ Refugee Aid Groups Reeling

New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District includes the following municipalities: Caldwell, East Orange, Essex Fells, Irvington, Montclair (part), Newark (part), Orange, Verona, West Orange in Essex County; Jersey City (part) in Hudson County; Cranford, Garwood, Hillside, Kenilworth, Linden (part), Roselle, Roselle Park, Union Township in Union County.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.