Hundreds of protesters Monday lined South Beretania Street fronting the state Capitol as part of a nationwide Presidents Day effort to oppose the Trump administration’s policies in the first weeks since taking power.

Oahu protesters cited concerns over President Donald Trump’s mass layoffs of federal employees, cutting of climate-related funding, policies they said undermine women’s and immigrants’ rights, and other initiatives.

Elon Musk was a focal point of the demonstration, with protesters criticizing his leadership of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which Trump said would cut wasteful government spending and eliminate excess regulations, while promoting economic growth.

Pamela Shana, holding a sign that read, “I didn’t vote for Musk,” called DOGE a “made-up department” and questioned Musk’s role, saying, “He’s not a leader, he just has money.” Shana likened Musk to Trump, saying both prioritize profits over people’s rights and that the “Trump-Musk administration” is not succeeding.

The Hawaii protest was part of the national “No Kings on Presidents Day” effort organized by a group called 50501, which opposes the Trump administration and its policies. The 50501 name refers to “50 protests, 50 states, one day.”

Sarah Parker, executive director of 50501’s member organization Voices of Florida, said the protests were sparked by a Reddit post that gained traction as people sought ways to express frustration with the Trump administration.

The New York Times reported that thousands of protesters took to the streets across the United States, including in Washington D.C., where hundreds of demonstrators chanted, “No king, no crown, we will not back down,” a few hundred feet from the U.S. Capitol on the National Mall.

Similar rallies of varying sizes took place across the country, including at Union Square in New York; a post office in Nantucket, Mass.; the Poff Federal Building in Roanoke, Va.; and the California state Capitol in Sacramento.

The Sacramento Police Department estimated the crowd size at the Capitol at 1,200 to 1,500. In New York, thousands of people marched from Union Square to Washington Square Park on Monday afternoon. They held up American flags and handwritten signs saying “Stop the Coup” and “No Billionaire Kings,” alluding to Musk.

Outside Hawaii’s state Capitol, demonstrator David Durazzo said he spoke with several people who have already lost their jobs as part of the federal funding cuts. He described the situation as “scary” and “sad,” and expressed concern for local projects, saying that if funding is cut, “irreplaceable programs in Hawaii” could be at risk.

Durazzo said he worried that the administration’s funding-freeze actions could hinder critical restoration efforts in the islands and harm both Hawaii’s environment and its natural resources. “Even if it’s just a small pause in funding, it can have severe consequences for Hawaii and our environment,” he said.

And he decried what he said was the administration’s disregard for judicial rulings. “It seems like neither the legislative nor judicial branches are in a position to stop what the executive is doing. This feels undemocratic,” Durazzo said.

U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, joined the protest wearing a homemade shirt with the message “Elon, You’re Fired” and the date May 30, 2025.

Musk, designated as a special government employee by the Trump administration, is limited to serving no more than 130 days in a calendar year. Once May 30 arrives, his time as a special government employee will expire. After that, Musk will need to transition to a regular government role, subject to the same financial and ethical disclosures as other government employees.

Tokuda described the demonstration as “inspiring and energizing,” adding, “The fact that we are here on Presidents Day denouncing our fake president Musk and his sidekick Trump shows that we’re here to stay fighting for the American people. … This is not the president we voted for, and we’re going to push back and fight for everything that we deserve.”

Trump and Musk have said the need to reduce a bloated federal bureaucracy is critical to cutting government waste and inefficiency. Musk has called the federal bureaucracy an “unelected, fourth, unconstitutional branch of government” that must be held accountable, according to USA Today.

During the Oahu demonstration, several counterprotesters challenged the anti-Trump crowd. One counterprotester wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat and waving a flag that read “Trump 2024” knocked a protester’s “Freedom Isn’t Free” sign after they bumped into each other.

Tensions briefly escalated before another protester intervened and calmed the situation, and the counterprotester left.

The protest drew many young people, with Tokuda saying she had spoken to several middle and high school students. She said the students understand the stakes more than many adults, recognizing that this was about their future.

“This is about their right to exist,” she said. “The way that they truly and authentically see themselves, and to see them stepping up and taking responsibility when sometimes the adults don’t do enough to say that we demand access to education.”

Hawaii Pacific University freshman Piper Lewis, 18, attended the protest with friends, fearing cuts to the U.S. Department of Education would jeopardize federal financial aid programs. “I hope he gets impeached and actually gets removed this time,” Lewis said.

Luna Reemelin, 15, a student at University Laboratory School, attended with her family and said she was also there to fight for education, abortion rights and the rights of women and the LGBTQ+ community.

“Children are the future of this world, and cutting their education is like cutting their future,” Reemelin said.

Trump has vowed to dismantle the Education Department, which he has said was infiltrated by radicals and zealots, and contending that education policy should be in the hands of the states.

Reemelin’s father, Spencer Reemelin, a Spanish professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, said he was concerned about the country’s direction under Trump.

“We’re turning into an oligarchy,” he said. “He got away with a lot his first term, and now he’s like, ‘Well, I’m going for it.’”

As a parent, Reemelin emphasized the importance of public education, saying, “You need to have solid public education, and that will solve a lot of future problems. Everything starts from education.”

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The New York Times contributed to this report.