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Chellie Pingree represents Maine’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Since the inauguration, our office has received thousands upon thousands of calls from constituents. Nearly all of them share a common theme: The Trump Administration’s growing list of extreme and illegal actions — from the unconstitutional effort to freeze federal funding to the dismantling of our federal workforce by Elon Musk.
These actions have sent shockwaves through our government and now, we’re beginning to see how the effects are impacting Maine people and our communities.
My office recently launched a “Share Your Story” portal on my website, along with an online survey for those who subscribe to my newsletter. I am so grateful to the hundreds of people who have taken the time to share their experiences.
Reading through people’s stories, so many emotions washed over me. Anger. Sadness. A profound sense of disbelief that this government could so flippantly betray so many people.
Like the family physician whose nonprofit recently received a five-year grant to help unhoused people with chronic mental illness and substance-use disorder access medical care — and now fears that funding will be ripped away.
Or the scientist working on mitigating “forever chemicals” and plastic pollution, who just found out that several of his grants have been frozen.
The owner of a wind energy company that had to pause all its customer projects — and lay off every single one of its employees — after funding from several federal agencies was cut off.
A farmer who fronted the cost for forestry-conservation efforts on their property and was expecting to be reimbursed by a grant from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, only to have the rug pulled out from under them.
“My wife and I have Social Security and Medicare,” he wrote. “We’re afraid we’ll lose them to pay for a billionaire tax cut.”
These are everyday, hardworking Mainers. They’re our neighbors. Our friends and loved ones. And they’re being actively harmed by the scorched-earth tactics of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. They’re worried about what the future holds. For themselves, their families, their communities, and their country.
Sadly, we know that there will be so many more of these stories in the weeks and months ahead.
In attempting to usurp Congress’s “power of the purse,” the president is taking a page straight out of Project 2025, the policy blueprint created by the Heritage Foundation that aims to dramatically reduce and reshape the federal government — and make the executive branch as powerful as possible.
While I am always on the lookout for ways to reduce waste and inefficiencies, the approach being taken by the Trump Administration is having devastating human consequences.
Forget “trickle-down economics.” What this administration is doing (with the support of congressional Republicans) should be called something else: Tear-down governance.
USAID? Tear it down.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? Dismantle it.
The Department of Education? Blow it up.
Medicaid? Burn it to the ground.
But here’s the thing about tearing down buildings: Typically, before you hit the “detonate” button, you want to make sure there aren’t any people inside. But there are people inside, and they are being hurt.
Federal workers aren’t the only ones who will be harmed. Taxpayers are bound to suffer, too. They’re talking about massive cuts to staff at the Social Security Administration. Have an issue with your benefits? Finding answers is about to get a whole lot harder. And that’s just one department.
Like it or not, the government and the economy are inextricably linked. They always have been. Destroy one, you’re bound to hurt the other.
This is happening in real time: An administration fueled by discredited theories of economics and constitutional law taking a wrecking ball to our government, with no regard for the human cost of such a strategy, either because they don’t understand, or they just don’t care (or both).
The American people, including those in Maine, are pushing back against this chaos and corruption. I am grateful for everyone who is making their voices heard, sharing their stories, and taking action.
Thank you to everyone who has shared your story. Please know that I hear you, that I’m fighting for you and that I’ll continue to do everything I can to stop the Trump Administration’s illegal and unconstitutional actions.
