Exclusive: Trump Cuts to Hit Rural America Like 'a Tsunami,' Democrat Warns

Newsweek

5 days ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Representative April McClain Delaney warned that President Donald Trump's cuts to programs like Medicaid, as well as NPR and PBS, are going to hit rural America like a "tsunami" in an interview with Newsweek.
Delaney's Maryland congressional district contains some of the areas that could be hit hardest by Trump's policies. It spans from the state's rural western panhandle, which she says could bear the brunt of new rescission cuts, to the Washington, D.C., suburbs, home to federal workers who have lost their jobs amid the mass firings of federal workers.
She first won election to the Sixth District last November, defeating Republican Neil Parrott by about 6 percentage points in a light-blue district that has been competitive in recent elections.
Delaney spoke with Newsweek about how she believes cuts in the Republican rescission package and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would affect constituents in rural areas in the district and across the country.
"When you look at all of these funding freezes on our government employees on our national parks, but also Medicaid, SNAP, and then start looking at some of the other rescissions that it's just a tsunami that's about to hit rural America," Delaney said.
Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Associated Press/Canva
How PBS, NPR Cuts Will Affect Rural America
Funding cuts for public media, such as PBS and NPR, which were included in a rescissions package passed by Congress earlier in July, could have devastating impacts on rural Americans, Delaney said.
Republicans argued that funding for these programs was a waste of taxpayer dollars and have accused the networks of pushing left-leaning programming. Critics, however, say public funding was a lifeline to communities that relied on their local NPR affiliates for news or PBS for free children's programming.
"When you look at the community that really relies on trusted news, one of the last trusted bastions of news is local news," Delaney said. These cuts may have an impact on Amber Alerts and Emergency Broadcast System alerts, she said.
Recent flooding in Western Maryland's Allegany County—a rural, conservative county inside Delaney's district—underscores the importance of having robust local radio news, she said.
"We had floods in Allegany County, and luckily, because of the emergency alerts, they kept the kids in the school. They didn't release them early. And as the rising waters went, I think, nine feet in 45 minutes, the kids went from the first floor, the second floor to the third floor, luckily were rescued and no one was hurt," she said. "When you think about how alerts are really facilitated by our broadcast stations, particularly these rural communities, it's a pretty big deal."
Delaney, who spent much of her career advocating for children in media at nonprofits like Common Sense Media, said cuts to PBS will have consequences for children across the country.
"I really look at how this funding will impact rural America in terms of broadcast stations and in particular educational programming for our kids. PBS is really the only free programming, educational programming that these kids receive," she said. "While you might hear some of my GOP colleagues [say] you can stream Sesame Street. Well, I hate to say this, our most disadvantaged kids in rural America, they can't afford to have a streaming Netflix account, much less have rural broadband."
Delaney predicted there would be a "significant outcry" from rural Americans if their local stations go under as a result of the cuts and that Democrats would eye the restoration of this funding if they retake control of Congress in the midterms.
The loss of these local stations would be a "loss of our community heart," she said, noting that they have historically had community obligations and public interest standards.
"I still think there's that residue reporting on the games from the football game at the high school or talking about the local fairs or the rodeo that's going to be in town or what have you," she said. "There is something that's a big community builder. In these smaller stations in rural and even bigger suburban America."
Cuts to Medicaid are another challenge facing rural America, she said, noting that one in seven families in her district relies on the program for health care.
"What are you going to do in the long term in terms of rural health care and rural hospitals potentially closing? she said. "But also, you know, are all these premiums going to go up? Right, and what's the impact?"
How Trump's Agenda Is Affecting Federal Workers
Maryland's Sixth District also encompasses parts of the D.C. suburbs and is home to more than 35,000 government workers who may be affected by cuts to the federal bureaucracy as part of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
So far, at least 260,000 federal workers have left their jobs since Trump returned to office in January, whether they were fired, retired early, or took a buyout, according to Reuters.
Delaney said many of them are still looking for jobs and have reached out to her office.
Health care is a key concern for these federal workers, she said.
"Many of them are concerned about the long-term, how they're going to have health care, in addition to being able to find new jobs," she said.
There are concerns that these "well-educated and well-adjusted" workers may be taken to the private sector or even leave the country as they seek new employment, she said.
"There are other big concerns about workforce development and how are we going to look at maybe figuring out ways that they can retool some of their skills. I do think that many of our state governments might be able to fill in the gap for some of these workers. But, their concerns are, of course affordability, figuring out their next step and interestingly enough, I've started hear more about AI," she said.
Delaney Slams 'Foolish' Foreign Aid Cuts
Foreign aid cuts have been "one of the most foolish acts" of the Trump administration, Delaney said.
"Our world is on fire right now and we have traditionally always been the one that has stepped in to help, whether it's vaccinations, whether it is feeding women and children, whether it was displacement during times of war. But there is something in soft diplomacy," she said. "What that means is that you are a trusted beacon of light. You are a source that people can depend upon around the world. And you do have more stability and peace when you have that."
She warned that there is a "lack of trust" in the United States on the global stage right now, and that other countries, such as China, are "zooming in to fill that void."
She described this foreign aid as the "cheapest part of our defense budget."
"It is probably some of the most foolish cuts I've ever seen in my life, and it's going to impact us globally, but that's going to come to haunt us domestically as well," she said.
Delaney on Trust in Government
Delaney also said her work in Congress is focused on restoring trust in the government amid a period of heightened "anger."
"It's really impacting the trust that people have in if our country can function and if our county can feel like the people who are elected officials are trustworthy," she said.
Elected officials need to take the time to "understand why there's anger" and why people feel like they have not been heard or met in the moment.
"My biggest concern and my biggest priority in Congress is to find ways to reestablish that trust, that trust with the American people, that trust on a community level," she said. "And I don't think it is a top-down—I think it's going to be a bottom-up within our communities building back, you know, across our communities and understanding in our elected officials."
She said she plans to ask her constituents for their views on the issues so that her vote can reflect their thoughts.
"Our world is crazy, but the last thing I'm going to say is I believe that we're going be OK. It's going to be choppy, it's going to be hard, but that we are going to swim through this, but it's a difficult ride at the moment," she said.