TRANSCRIPT: Leader Schumer Delivers Remarks At Press Conference After Trump Administration Caused Chaos For Millions Of Americans With Illegal And Cruel Freeze Of Federal Aid

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke at a press conference alongside Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) on the Trump Administration halting trillions in crucial federal as part of his dangerous and cruel Project 2025 agenda. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Last night, President Trump plunged the country into chaos without a shred of warning. The Trump Administration announced a halt to virtually all federal funds across the country. In an instant, Donald Trump has shut off billions, perhaps trillions of dollars that directly support states, cities, towns, schools, hospitals, small businesses, and most of all, American families. This is a dagger at the heart of the average American family in red states, in blue states, in cities, in suburbs, in rural areas. It is just outrageous. Funds for things like disaster assistance, local law enforcement, rural hospitals, aid to the elderly. Food for people in need. All are on the chopping block in this new Administration.

Why? They need tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy. And these cuts, they think, will fund them. Every one of our offices has been deluged with calls from people who are in panic. What is this going to mean? What if I have a hospital that has people on life support? What are we going to do? And just like the January 6th pardons, this decision is lawless, dangerous, destructive, cruel. It's illegal. It's unconstitutional. I spoke to my Attorney General [Letitia James] this morning. She's head of the state attorneys general association. They're going to court right away on this horror. This, plain and simple, this is Project 2025. Project 2025 by another name. They knew how unpopular Project 2025 was. But the right wing ideologues are still in control. And so they had to do it in a different way, but it has the same consequences and will have the same horrible, negative, overwhelming reaction from the American people. And who is going to be the implementer of this? None other than the chief cook and bottle washer of Project 2025 Russell Vought. Putting someone like Russell Vought at OMB, the architect of Project 2025 is a huge danger sign to America.

Having Russell Vought at OMB with this power is just frightening. Not to us. Although we are going to fight this tooth and nail, but to average American people who depend on this. And what does Vought want to do? Well, you saw it in his blueprint Project 2025, eradicate basic services, eradicate investments that help tens of millions of Americans, all so they can pay for the tax cuts for the ultra-rich. It's hard to overstate how destructive this decision is for the country. He has a lot of really bad decisions for which the American people will rebel and politically is going to be very unpopular. But this is the worst of the worst, the worst of the worst. In our states, we've talked to people, every one of us. People are scrambling to figure out what it means to them.

We're getting panicked calls. How are people going to make mortgage payments? How are small businesses going to keep their staff if the federal funding is shut off? Virtually any organization, school, state, police office, county, town or community depends on federal grant money to run its day to day operations, and they're all now in danger. Nonprofits that help disabled veterans are in danger thanks to Donald Trump. Funding that supports our transportation system and infrastructure is now in danger thanks to Donald Trump. Hospitals, particularly rural hospitals and community health centers, are now in danger because of Donald Trump. Meals on wheels are in danger because of Donald Trump. Our cops and firefighters are in danger thanks to Donald Trump. Funding for the Non [Profit] Security Grant program, which protects synagogues and temples from anti-Semitic attacks – we saw one in my neighborhood just Sunday –  is now in danger thanks to Donald Trump.

The blast radius of this terrible decision is virtually limitless and its impact will be felt over and over again. It's not going to hit each American family in one way. It's going to hit them in multiple ways. The only people who might be immune to this are the ultra, ultra-wealthy, who they want to give a tax break to. The Trump Administration is robbing Peter to pay the billionaires. American families, make no mistake about it, the money being taken from them will be spent, but not on them. Instead of going to support for your community, it's going to the ultra-wealthy and the mega corporations. This is cruelty, this is lawlessness, this is a heist done on a national scale. No matter how much he may believe he does, the president does not have the authority to ignore the law. And we're going to fight this in every way that we can.

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