HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz is taking a stance in part of the democratic fight against the shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development by placing a ‘blanket hold’.

Schatz said he’s placing a “blanket hold” on President Trump’s nominees for the State Department.

“There is a reason U.S. aid is an arm of foreign policy and it is because we understand that a stable world means a stable America,” Sen. Schatz said at a protest outside the USAID headquarters Monday.

The protest was in opposition to the Trump administration’s reported decision to shut down USAID, the agency that provides crucial aid funding education and fights starvation, epidemic and poverty overseas.

“In the last ten days Donald Trump has done more to destabilize things across the planet than perhaps any other president in recent memory,” Schatz continued. Sen. Schatz’s “blanket hold” could prevent a speedy vote for a nominee in the full senate.

The state department nominees require majorities to be confirmed in the Senate. Republicans have 53 senators, however, democrats can drag out the process and detract from other nominees or bills that GOP leaders prefer to spend time on.