The Trump administration’s freeze on trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans — which was rescinded Wednesday after a broad backlash — shows how the White House is intent on remaking the federal government, according to U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner.
During a late-morning news conference in his Warwick office, Magaziner spoke before the federal freeze was lifted. He said it had the potential to devastate low- and moderate-income Rhode Islanders.
“This isn’t just political games and it’s not just government employees who are going to be impacted,” Magaziner said. “Your utility bills are going to go up, your healthcare bills are going to go up, your cost of putting kids in child care are going to go up, if this federal funding is cut off.”
Magaziner, a Democrat, said the freeze on previously allocated money was blatantly illegal “since the Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse,” and he said it offered a window on the intention of the Trump administration.
“This is what Donald Trump and the Project 2025 authors have been planning for years and they’re not just going to roll over and give up,” the Second District representative said.
During the campaign last year, Trump distanced himself from Project 2025 even though many of his former associates were involved with the project, a detailed plan for remaking the federal government and moving it to the right.
The Trump White House said it is pursuing “the golden age of America.”
Had the freeze gone ahead, Magaziner said, Democrats were prepared to respond legislatively, in the courts and through messaging to the media and constituents.
The congressman, ranking member on the Subcommittee for Counterterrorism, Intelligence and Law Enforcement of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said the freeze threatened to damage an array of programs meant to promote homeland security.
Magaziner said since congressional Republicans hold a narrow majority, they will likely need Democratic support to fund the government and avoid hitting the debt ceiling this spring.
“And I am sure that if they want our cooperation,” he added, “our leadership is going to be having conversations with them about putting guardrails around what Trump is trying to do.
Magaziner said the battle over federal loans and grants shouldn’t distract attention from other issues involving the Trump administration, including the blanket pardon of January 6th rioters and “the dangerous nominees that are going through Senate confirmation this week, including Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel.”
“So we’re going to keep talking about all of it,” Magaziner said. “Part of the Trump strategy is to flood the zone and spread us thin and we are not going to let that happen.”
