ICYMI: Delaware’s Congresswoman McBride Joins CNN News Central to Discuss Trump Administration Attacks on USAID
Wilmington, DE — In case you missed it, Sarah McBride (DE-AL) joined Brianna Keilar on CNN’s News Central this afternoon to address the Trump Administration’s illegal plan to gut USAID and its relentless attacks on civil servants at USAID. To watch the full interview, click here.
On the plan to dismantle USAID
“Well, this is no way to run a government, but this is the chaos of the Trump administration. His attacks on funding and workers at USAID undermine our national security, they undermine global health, they undermine our very economy. It's creating incredible risk of a global pandemic. It's throwing vulnerable women and oppressive regimes under the bus. It's already resulted in prison guards who were overseeing thousands of ISIS combatants in Syria walking off the job because their pay was temporarily frozen.
"So the President can say what he wants, he can throw out names and insults, but foreign adversaries like China and Russia are cheering on these actions because they know when the United States shirks its commitments to the world they're able to enter and take the lead and increase their profile and their power.
“This is a gross and unconstitutional power grab, and it's also one part of a larger illegal and unconstitutional effort by this administration to gut the federal workforce and gut the federal government writ large.
“If they can get away with this with USAID, they can do it anywhere and that means that no part of the federal government, including programs like Medicare and Social Security, will be safe from this administration. So it is illegal. And it is just the first stop on this administration's effort to undermine programs and benefits in order to line the pockets of uber wealthy donors and friends of the president.”
What Democrats can do to fight back
“Well, first off, let me just say something because you mentioned the administration's already lying about what USAID was doing. They lied during the course of the campaign when they said that they wouldn't be implementing Project 2025.
“Well, this is Project 2025.
“So we cannot take them at their word when they say that Social Security and Medicare are protected.
“Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.
“We will not be fooled by this administration.
“Look, we are doing all that we can. I've been working with colleagues in the Delaware congressional delegation, around the clock over the last several weeks to fight back, and House Democrats are going to be utilizing our leverage, in committees and through the appropriations process to push back on this administration and do all we can to … stop these illegal and unconstitutional actions.”
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