Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Donald Trump’s Extremely Harmful And Lawless Halt To Virtually All Federal Grants and Loans

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on Donald Trump’s extremely dangerous, and lawless halt to virtually all forms of federal financial assistance. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Last night, incredibly and lawlessly, the Trump Administration announced a virtual halt to all forms of federal financial assistance.

In an instant – one instant, one blink of the eye, in the dark of night – Donald Trump has shut off billions, perhaps trillions, of dollars that support small businesses, that support families, that support police officers and firefighters, that support hospitals and rural hospitals in particular, that support our localities, our states and cities, our schools and so much more.

Why? Why did Donald Trump do this? Simple: to fund tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy.

This decision is lawless, destructive, cruel. The president must rescind this order at once. And Congress must act it he refuses.

Make no mistake: this is Project 2025 – Project 2025 by another name.

And the danger of having someone like Russell Vought, the chief cook and bottle washer of Project 2025, in charge of OMB is frightening. It’s frightening to just about every American family in terms of what it can do to them.

When Project 2025 came out, it was so ridiculed that Donald Trump had to say, “oh, I don’t know much about it.” And now he is putting one of the main authors of Project 2025 in the place where he can implement all of these horrible, discredited, unpopular findings. That’s where they’re headed, folks. That’s where they’re going. And again, why are they doing it? Because they can pay for tax cuts for the ultra-rich by making these cuts on average American families.  

This morning, I think every Senator’s phone has been ringing off the hook –certainly mine has – with nonstop calls from hospitals, and police departments, volunteer firefighters, food pantries, drug treatment centers, on and on and on. And if someone is going to say they’re getting no calls, then they’re just out of touch because it affects almost everything.

People are worried. People are scrambling. People are in panic mode trying to figure out how this order affect them. Hospitals with people on life support, food pantries that feed the hungry, police departments that patrol our streets, every one of them is worried because so many of them get federal aid. If federal funding is shut off, so many groups and institutions are worried if they can pay the rent, if they can pay their staffs, if they can keep their operations running.

Virtually any organization, and there are millions, that depends on federal grant money to run its day-to-day operations is now in danger.

Nonprofits that help disabled veterans are now in danger thanks to Donald Trump.

Funding that supports our nation’s mass transit, from one end of the country to the other, is now in danger thanks to Donald Trump.

Hospitals, particularly rural hospitals and community health centers, are now in danger thanks to Donald Trump

Meals on Wheels is now in danger thanks to Donald Trump.

Even smaller programs – I’m very proud of something I passed called the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which protects synagogues and religious institutions from anti-Semitic attacks like the one we just had one in our neighborhood on Sunday – are now in danger thanks to Donald Trump.

Senior centers, law enforcement, fire fighters, water districts, food pantries are all in danger because of Donald Trump.

Again, their master plan to hurt average folks from one end of the country to the other – in red states, in blue states, in suburbs, in cities, and rural areas – and take money out of their hides, all to pay for tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy, is now becoming clear.

The blast radius of this terrible decision is virtually limitless. It’s American families who are going to suffer most.

American families should make no mistake: the money being stolen from them will be spent, just not on them. It’s going to be spent on tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy and the biggest corporations.

President Trump must reverse this course immediately. The Budget Committee should slow down its hearings with Mr. Vought until it fully comes out what they all intend to do. The funding President Trump is halting is not optional – Congress has approved these funds, and they are law. The president does not, no matter what he thinks, have the authority to ignore the law and ignore Congress.

And let me be clear: this is not an isolated act. Unfortunately, it comes a week after President Trump pardoned violent criminals who sought to overturn our election, and days after President Trump fired independent watchdogs across the government, in a naked attempt to shroud his actions from the American people.

I can assure every American that Democrats will pursue all available options – legal and otherwise – to halt this assault. 

I've talked to the Attorney General of New York State, Tish James, and she and her association – I believe she's the head of the National Association of Attorneys General – are going to use all their legal power to stop this illegal act.

I implore my Republican colleagues – who know in their hearts and their minds that this is a reckless and unconstitutional action – to speak up, to join us as Americans in defense of the law, but most of all to protect our communities and to protect the American people from this awful announcement.

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