2 weeks Ago
In some of her strongest language to date, U.S. Sen.
Jeanne Shaheen said President Donald Trump’s actions on spending, tariffs and shutting down foreign assistance programs appear to be a “deliberate effort to undermine the critical functions” of the federal government. Shaheen, a three-term senator whose term is up in 2026, said her office is receiving complaint calls at a level only met during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many hold the view that Trump’s actions bear little resemblance to his focus as a presidential candidate, Shaheen said.
“It is creating frustration and concern across the board. This is not what they signed up for,” Shaheen said during an interview. “When Donald Trump was campaigning, he was talking about addressing inflation, lowering costs for people on food, rent and prescriptions.
None of that is in his agenda since he got inaugurated.” For his part, Trump said he told voters that Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, would be a trusted adviser on how to reduce federal spending by up to $2 trillion. Musk leads the new Department of Government Efficiency, whose employees got access to payroll information of the Department of Treasury and the U.
S. Small Business Administration. “He should not have access to this, they are going into classified spaces without appropriate clearances,” said Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, which is dealing with the Department of Agriculture, rural development and Food and Drug Administration.
Shaheen said Musk’s moves to close down USAID will collapse vital assistance to vulnerable people around the world and only invite U.S. adversaries to step in and try to control affairs in struggling countries.
“In fact, there’s evidence that is already beginning to happen,” Shaheen said. Shaheen noted Musk seeks to reduce the size of a federal government that at one pivotal point rescued him with financial relief. “The irony is this guy would have been out of business but for the U.
S. government bailing him out in Space X,” Shaheen said. “The fact he is trying to deny that kind of access and help to individuals and business that need it is just unacceptable and shameful.
” Earlier Wednesday, Shaheen hosted a conference call with leaders of chambers of commerce and other regional officials who raised concerns about the proposed tariffs with Canada that are on a 30-day pause but have not been rescinded. “Their number one issue is the uncertainty and the chaos that is happening under this president’s very hand,” Shaheen said. U.
S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.
H., signed on to a letter to Trump Wednesday, along with 60 House Democrats, calling for him to cancel any Canadian tariff plans. “These actions, this rhetoric has consequences that people are already seeing in their everyday lives," Shaheen added.
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