Around 300 people protested outside an Ogden restaurant where Rep. Blake Moore spoke midday Saturday at a Lincoln Day Republican Party luncheon. Many were there to express their anger at President Donald Trump and the cuts he has made through the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, headed by entrepreneur Elon Musk.
The protesters were outside the Timbermine Steakhouse, on the east side of Ogden. They protested peacefully, waving at the cars that honked in support, and chanting together. “You work for us, not Elon Musk,” they said. And, “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go.” Some of them booed as the attendees of the luncheon pulled into the parking lot.
They were also on the lookout for Moore, who represents Utah’s 4th Congressional District.
Moore spoke to reporters ahead of making his remarks, but he did not come out to address the protesters. He said he is aware of frustration in his district over cuts made by DOGE, especially among federal employees. He said his staff is working closely with those affected by job cuts.
Moore’s district is home to the largest number of federal employees in Utah. It includes Hill Air Force Base and thousands of IRS employees. He is also one of three co-chairs of the DOGE Caucus in the House. The caucus was organized to “lead government efficiency initiatives” in the House, according to its leaders. There is a separate DOGE subcommittee under the House Oversight Committee that is meant to lead out on legislation associated with DOGE’s cost-cutting measures.
While many conservatives, including Utah Sen. Mike Lee, have applauded the closures, saying the federal government’s $2 trillion annual deficit makes cuts necessary and urgent, those in support of the agencies say it’s been too much too fast, and that Trump doesn’t have the authority to close and defund federal agencies. Federal judges have reversed many of Trump’s decisions, leading to a clash between Republicans and the judiciary.
There were federal employees at the protest, but many others there expressed more generalized anger toward the Trump administration, waving signs protesting DOGE, deportations, and Trump himself.
Ogden protest part of 50501 movement
One of the organizers of Saturday’s protest, Cameron, said this was the fourth protest he’s helped lead since Trump was inaugurated. Cameron didn’t want to share his last name, saying his group was starting to get the attention of “some scary people,” while declining to give details. He said he’s a Weber State University student where he’s studying healthcare administration.
“These people are concerned citizens that reject the tyranny of Donald Trump and Elon Musk,” he said in an interview with the Deseret News. “We are a community of peaceful protesters that want to fight for our rights. We want to prevent fascism from taking hold from the United States.”
Cameron called for Trump’s removal from office, saying he doesn’t think Trump should have been able to run for president again because of the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riots.
Removing Trump from office is one of the lists of demands put forward by the 50501 movement, he said, which Cameron is a part of. The name stands for, “50 states, 50 protests, 1 movement,” according to the group’s website. Protests under the group’s umbrella have been held across the country, including at the state Capitol in Utah.
Cameron said the other two demands made by 50501 are “reverse,” meaning they want whoever replaces Trump to reverse all of his executive orders, and “reclaim,” by overturning Citizens United v. FEC, a 2010 Supreme Court decision that removed limits on political spending by organizations and corporations, based on 1st Amendment protections.
Teddie Enlow was at the protest with her husband Roy Jewkes. Enlow, a constituent of Moore’s who lives in Eden, said she is concerned with Trump’s decision to dismantle and eventually shutter the Department of Education, calling the move “appalling.” Also, her daughter is a member of the Confederated Tribes Of The Goshute Reservation, and she said that Trump has stripped funding from the tribes.
“I’m a Japanese American, and my ancestors were incarcerated and in the camp, and to see what they they sacrificed for all of us, and to see what’s happening to America now, it’s devastating,” she said. “So we had to come out and just make our voices heard.”
Moore says he understands frustration amid cost-cutting
Inside the restaurant, Moore spoke to reporters ahead of his remarks, saying he understands the frustration of the people in his district who have been swept-up in the job cuts implemented by DOGE.
The move to put decisions about jobs back in the hands of Cabinet secretaries is something he supports, he said, adding that he also thinks probationary hires were cut too quickly. He said he’s spoken to the Trump administration about the decision to cut those positions, and said they’re rolling some of them back.
“What I really want folks to know is how much I recognize I have a very strong federal workforce district, and our team is working hand in hand with the administration to hopefully, to get this right, and if there are opportunities to find reductions in the workforce that are productive, we want to be supportive of it,” he said. “And then we want to make sure that we avoid areas that would be damaging.”
His district staff is working with constituents who have lost their jobs, in part by trying to help them find other job opportunities or training that can lead to new jobs, he said.
While his district has been hit hard, Moore said he still thinks cost-cutting measures must continue because of the $36.2 trillion debt, and the $2 trillion budget deficit, which could eventually have disastrous effects on the bond markets.
“It’s unsustainable, and so we’re going to have to go through some difficult moments here,” he said.
The House is working on a broader budget reconciliation bill that will likely include tax cuts and cost cutting measures in support of DOGE’s efforts. Moore said Republicans in Congress are working now to decide what those measures will be, in conjunction with the White House.
While Moore hasn’t held an in-person town hall during this week’s congressional recess, he recently held a tele-town hall. Watching the raucous town hall hosted by Utah Reps. Celeste Maloy and Mike Kennedy on Thursday, Moore said he sees a lot of “grandstanding” that doesn’t lead to productive dialogue.
Behind the scenes, he said, his office is working with the Trump administration to try to get things right, and hopefully “move forward in a way that we can productively look back and say, ‘Hey, we were able to trim our budget, and our economy still grew, and we were still in a good, powerful spot as the global leader.’ That’s the win.”
On accusations that Trump is a fascist over the deportation of pro-Palestinian protesters, Moore said he agrees with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said that students who are noncitizens should not be allowed to disrupt campuses and participate in illegal actions like taking over buildings.
Moore compared campus protesters to those standing outside the restaurant on Saturday, saying he was glad to see the protesters were obeying police orders on where they could stand and were expressing themselves peacefully.
