TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDERS

TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDERS

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 18 (Tuesday, January 28, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 28, 2025)] [Senate] [Pages S439-S440] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDERS Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I think this is my first time with you presiding, so it is good to see you. This power grab--this attempted power grab--that took place today in flagrant disregard for our separation of powers has a home not in the Constitution but in Project 2025. The American people hate Project 2025, so Donald Trump spent his campaign trying to distance himself from Project 2025, but then he put one of the authors of Project 2025 in charge of the Office of Management and Budget, who is, as we saw in the Budget hearing, out of one side of his mouth saying ``Oh, President Trump doesn't have anything to do with 2025; he disavowed it'' and, as President Trump's appointee to OMB, is merrily implementing Project 2025. This is exactly aligned with the Project 2025 playbook that Americans rejected so much that Trump had to lie and pretend he rejected it too, in addition to being unconstitutional. That is not just an allegation any longer; a court today here in the District of Columbia found it to be unconstitutional and has ordered a stop to this pause. That is a relief because for people in my State, today was a scary day. Medicaid was stopped. The portal to the Medicaid system that the State reaches into was closed. People say: What is Medicaid? Medicaid is how a great many American seniors pay for their nursing homes. If you are shutting down Medicaid for your jollies, what you are doing is threatening the security of elderly folks living in nursing homes for whom Medicaid pays the bill. We have in Rhode Island and in other States gone through very significant addiction crises. Addiction recovery is very often paid for through Medicaid. So when you shut down Medicaid and close the portal, you are threatening people who are bravely fighting their way through their addiction, trying to get well and better, and suddenly President Trump is cutting the legs out from under them by closing the Medicaid portal and threatening Medicaid. Mr. President, 300,000 Rhode Islanders get supported by the Medicaid system, so this sent a lot of fear through a lot of people. I know there are people in the Trump administration who enjoy that. They get their kicks out of creating fear and having people--you know, cruelty is their pastime. But this is getting a little carried away. Firefighters and police officers--I spoke this morning to the Major County Sheriffs' Association, and they immediately raised the concern: What about my HIDTA grants? Those of who have been in law enforcement know what a HIDTA grant is. For firefighters, it is the AFG grant--the assistance to firefighters grant--with which they buy safety equipment, breathing apparatus, and new fire engines and vehicles. So all of that panic because this rash and unconstitutional decision was made. Kids in school often are supported by Federal programs. Head Start is a particularly good one. We had a very well-loved mayor of our capital city, Providence, RI, who started in Head Start and became the mayor of our capital city. Head Start is a wonderful program. Why would you want to threaten all of those children? Sojourner House is a domestic violence support entity and shelter in Rhode Island that supports women when they come out of an abusive relationship and need a place to find immediate safety and try to put their lives together. It is supported by Federal grants that President Trump tried to shut down today. It is astonishing. There is $33 million in small business loans out in Rhode Island with a big question mark by them because of today's bad behavior. It is the community health centers. People had doctor's appointments and people were going in for minor procedures and treatments, and suddenly there is a cloud over the ability to fund the community health centers. This is just wild, extreme, and dangerous stuff. I will take my lawyer role for a minute. Talk about unconstitutional--the Constitution provides a method for the President to veto legislation he doesn't like. That veto method does not include not--being the President, coming in in a whole new administration, having missed completely the opportunity to do a proper veto or for Congress to override, and doing this unilateral thing, which is not only forbidden by the separation of powers and the veto rule but also by law Congress passed regarding so-called impoundments. So it is flagrantly, flagrantly illegal. I will close by saying that it is also a threat of corruption. Every time you [[Page S440]] look at the Trump administration, you have to lift up the hood and look for where the corruption thread is. We are going to see corruption like you have never seen before out of this administration. And the corruption thread here is that you close all these things down, and then you pick the ones you like for the people who are your big donors, for the companies that gave you big bucks, for the special interests who put you in office, for the political allies who serve you, and you let them have their money freed up while everybody else's is frozen. Do you think that is imaginary? It is exactly what the Trump administration did with the tariffs in his last term of office. You could go into a secret little line, and if you knew the right people, you could get a waiver. There is an absolute avenue to corruption in this. Thank God the courts shut it down. This was a bad moment. It is not over. I hope my Republican colleagues will rise to the occasion because this is a basic attack on our Constitution, and it is a basic attack on the legislative branch of government. With that, I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader. ____________________