Roughly 200 people turned out at the Hawaiʻi State Capitol on Wednesday as part of a nationwide protest against President Donald Trump’s administration and, specifically, Project 2025’s controversial agenda.
Dubbed the “50501” protests on social media platforms, the movement called on residents in all 50 states to hold 50 protests against Trump's early efforts in his second term.
Those include policies that target immigrants lacking permanent legal status, the LGBTQ community, and other marginalized groups — along with attempts to shrink the federal government’s spending and services.
“I have two brothers who are gay. I have a sister who's bisexual. I have a grandmother who lives on Social Security. I know people — family members and friends of friends — who are immigrants. Definitely a lot of family members and friends who rely on a lot of these federal programs,” said Andrea de Gruchy, who lives on Hickam Air Force Base, during Wednesday’s protest on Oʻahu.
Many of Trump’s moves during the first two weeks of his presidential term are recommendations in Project 2025, the controversial agenda created by the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation to overhaul the federal government.
On the campaign trail, Trump tried to distance himself from the movement, which organizers call "a presidential transition project."
But since taking office, he’s embraced the agenda, raising alarms for some.
“There's so much wrapped up in… Project 2025 that I don't know how everybody isn't out here, because it affects all of us,” said Jody Morse, a friend of de Gruchy, at Wednesday’s protest.
Millions of Americans and their family and friends are already being impacted by Trump’s moves. De Gruchy said her grandmother “lives on” her Social Security payments, and the changes to the federal funding have reduced those payments by hundreds of dollars.
Morse is bisexual and wants more LGBTQ representation, which Trump has begun removing.
His early policies include executive orders that recognize just two genders, ban transgender women and girls from competing in female sports, restrict care for transgender minors, and remove transgender people from the military.
Additionally, Morse’s partner works in conservation. The new administration has removed mentions of and references to studies on climate change from federal websites.
Morse and de Gruchy hope the protests are the start of a larger movement against Trump’s current agenda.
“A lot of these movements that are happening are spreading the word and that's what we want, we came out here to spread the word, bring awareness, plant seeds — not so much change minds here in this moment, but just to plant seeds and let people know. Look into Project ‘25, do research,” de Gruchy said.
The pair were waving signs to vehicles driving down South Beretania Street that said “Reject Project 2025.”
Others brought similar signs, including some calling out Elon Musk, a billionaire and “special government employee” to Trump who’s had controversial access to the Treasury Department and is currently working on shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development. Musk was tasked to help find ways to cut federal funding.
A few dozen protestors who were in support of Trump set up across Beretania Street to counter the “50501” crowd.
The opposing sides generally kept to themselves, although some individuals occasionally yelled across the street at each other.
Some local lawmakers spoke to the crowd. Rep. Della Au Belatti, who chairs the House Committee on Public Safety, was one of them. She said an important next step for the public is to practice civic engagement.
“Get involved in the legislative process … as we assess and figure out where the funding is really going to hit,” she said. “Even more so, it's going to be important for us, as legislators, to backstop and backfill. Now, will we be able to do all of that? Probably not, but we can look at this in a phased approach and help those critical needs and … make sure that there is funding for these critical services.”
Belatti also recommended the public identify nonprofits and other organizations that could be affected by any cuts in federal funding, and bring that to the attention of legislators.
Meanwhile, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., are also protesting Project 2025.
As of around 10 a.m., U.S. senators have spent the last 24 hours or so speaking out against the confirmation of Russell Vought, Trump’s pick to head the Office of Management and Budget — and one of the lead architects for Project 2025.
Hawaiʻi’s own U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz was one of the senators who led the effort against Vought’s nomination.
“He really does want to cut Medicaid, cut Medicare, cut the Affordable Care Act, eliminate programs that I think are essential for people in Hawaiʻi and people across the country,” Schatz said during the ongoing Senate floor proceedings.
In a plea to get a few Republicans to vote against Vought’s nomination, he said, “When you read about it in the past, you can identify that historic moment. When you observe it in a faraway place with a hard-to-pronounce name, you can identify what's happening — creeping fascism. When it happens and you're in the middle of it, you're not so sure if it's your moment to display any sense of independence or courage.”
