Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to [email protected]
What are our congresspeople doing about the Trump-Vance administration’s newest maneuver to take away Congress’ power? Rolling over and letting them?
The administration’s order, from the acting head of the Office of Management and Budget, Matthew Vaeth, demands that as of 5 p.m. on Jan. 28, “Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders …”
Anyone promised federal grants might have their money at risk, including states. This funding includes universities for education and research programs; nonprofits; local and tribal governments; disaster relief aid; food aid; education and transportation funding; loans to small businesses; and more.
MSNBC columnist Eric Michael Garcia said on X on Tuesday that Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin told him she is “hearing concerns about law enforcement, emergency responders, firefighters wondering about their grant funding to school lunch programs wondering if they’ll be able to serve lunch tomorrow.” Head Start websites were shut down, as were state Medicaid sites on Tuesday. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said in a statement: “Congress approved these investments and they are not optional; they are the law.”
Will our congressional representatives allow Congress’ power to be eroded, usurped, destroyed by the power-grabbing by a very few people in the country, many of them billionaires?
The consequences are dire and deadly. I would hope that, of all things, our congressional representatives would at least be motivated to stop the Trump administration from stealing their own power.
Becca Shaw Glaser
Rockport
