Rep. McBride Forces Trump Administration to Reverse Harmful Manufacturing Cuts
WILMINGTON, DE — Today, Congresswoman Sarah McBride (D-DE) announced a major win for Delaware manufacturers after the Trump Administration reversed its decision to cut funding for the Delaware Manufacturing Extension Partnership (DEMEP) and nine other Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers nationwide.
On April 1, Rep. McBride was notified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that DEMEP would lose federal funding “as a part of President Trump’s program to reduce the size and cost of the federal government and to refocus agency science and technology priorities.”
“The Trump Administration thought it could quietly dismantle this critical program—but we didn’t let that happen,” said Rep. McBride. “Within hours of being notified, I got to work—organizing support in Congress, raising awareness in Delaware, and making clear that cutting support for small and mid-sized manufacturers wasn’t just misguided, it was unacceptable.”
In response, Rep. McBride led a letter signed by 86 House Democrats demanding the Administration reverse course. She also worked directly with Delaware manufacturers to highlight how DEMEP supports economic growth, innovation, and job retention across the First State.
Today, NIST notified Rep. McBride that it would renew funding for the affected centers through the end of the fiscal year, citing further review and ongoing evaluation of the program. Rep. McBride emphasized that while this reversal is a step in the right direction, it could only be temporary.
“This funding only gets us through the end of the fiscal year,” said Rep. McBride. “I will keep working to ensure that support for DEMEP and MEP centers nationwide is not just restored—but protected for good. Delaware’s manufacturers deserve nothing less.”
DEMEP plays a vital role in the state’s economy. Between October 2023 and September 2024, DEMEP helped generate $42.5 million in new investments, $35 million in new and retained sales, and helped retain 423 manufacturing jobs.
“We are grateful to our Congressional delegation for their leadership in protecting DEMEP’s federal funding for at least another six months,” said Dr. Lora Johnson, chair of DEMEP’s Fiduciary Board. “This welcome reprieve will ensure that DEMEP can continue to provide critical services to our state’s manufacturing sector, offering support that helps our manufacturers grow sustainably, solve problems, and create jobs here in Delaware. We look forward to working with all of our elected officials to ensure that federal funding for DEMEP will continue beyond the next six months, ideally for many years to come.”
One of DEMEP’s success stories is SUMURI, a fast-growing digital forensics company based in Magnolia, Delaware, that provides investigative tools to law enforcement and government agencies around the world.
DEMEP helped to double the business of SUMURI, helping to scale their business nationwide. “We were not optimized, we were not organized,” said Steve Whalen, SUMURI co-founder. “Without DEMEP’s help, we would have imploded. We’re grateful to our Congresswoman for fighting for this funding — because DEMEP will continue helping small businesses across our state, just like they did for ours.”
Rep. McBride visited SUMURI on January 31, 2025 and highlighted their innovation in a February 5, 2025 House Committee on Space, Science and Technology hearing entitled “The State of U.S. Science and Technology: Ensuring U.S. Global Leadership.”
Read Rep. McBride’s original letter HERE.
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