Latest news with #Goodlander
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Local, state educators cite uncertainty over continued federal support
Hassan charges Trump takes actions to weaken, dismantle DOE U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H, said President Donald Trump can't eliminate the U.S. Dept. of Education without congressional approval, but has taken steps to weaken or undo federal education initiatives. Local and state educators told U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan and Rep. Maggie Goodlander, both D-N.H., Monday that they face the most uncertainty ever over the future of federal Department of Education programs. Josh Gagnon, director of University of New Hampshire TRIO Upward Bound, said his program will end on June 1 unless the U.S. Department of Education agrees to release federal money that Congress has approved. Gagnon said many of the 2,500 students in his programs are first-generation Americans and these offerings give them a 'sense of belonging' before they attend two- or four-year college courses. He met with a group of parents and students over the weekend. 'I couldn't give them an answer whether or not there will be a summer program,' Gagnon said during a roundtable at Manchester Community College (MCC). Robert Thompson, Hampstead's superintendent of schools, said the district learns its federal allotment of grants by April every year. 'We still have not heard what federal funding we will receive next year; it's the latest point we have ever seen,' Thompson said. State education officials told Thompson not to expect to receive any money under federal Title II, used for teacher development and initiatives to reduce class sizes. Paul Beaudin, the new president of MCC, sounded the alarm that Trump administration changes to make Pell Grants students take more courses to stay eligible could jeopardize continued support; 34% of MCC's students are in the program. 'Many of our students are working full time and the age of our students tends to be higher as don't have the time to take on an additional course load,' Beaudin said. Dept. of Education weakened Hassan said while President Donald Trump lacks the authority to unilaterally abolish the Department of Education, his administration has taken steps in that direction. 'By taking away funds, slowing down the flow of grants or canceling them altogether they are effectuating a significant weakening of the department if not abolishing it,' Hassan said. Goodlander said she's working on a congressional task force to support the Department of Education's work. 'This is a really difficult time and a real challenge for families and students,' Goodlander said. Goodlander joins task force to support DOE's work U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., answers questions from reporters after co-hosting a roundtable about challenges local and state educators face in dealing with the future of the U.S. Dept. of Education. Others serving on the roundtable Monday were Catherine Provencher, chancellor of the University System of New Hampshire; Stephanie Lesperance, chief strategy officer of N.H. GEAR UP Alliance; Erin Anderson, principal of Sunset Heights Elementary School in Nashua; and Sue Hannan, president of the Manchester Education Association. An hour before the Hassan-Goodlander event, top federal Department of Health and Human Services officials hosted a celebration of the 60th anniversary of Head Start, a program to fight poverty that has grown into a national model for early learning, health and nutrition, and family support to over 40 million children and families. 'Since its creation, Head Start has offered a foundation to address vulnerable families' most pressing concerns,' said Andrew Gradison, acting assistant secretary at the Administration of children and Families. 'As we look to the future, we are excited to update the program to best serve the children of the 21st century.' The Head Start celebration was held at the Community Action Partnership of Hillsborough and Rockingham Counties offices on Silver Street in Manchester. klandrigan@
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Goodlander talks Trump impeachment, passing on Senate bid, and where she finds hope
U.S. Rep Maggie Goodlander (center) speaks to Monadnock Community Hospital leaders in Peterborough on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. Cynthia K. McGuire, president and CEO, is at left, and Richard Scheinblum, executive vice president and CFO, is at right. (Photo by William Skipworth/New Hampshire Bulletin) U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander, a Democrat from Nashua, has represented New Hampshire's 2nd District in Congress for just over three months. While she acknowledges the hectic nature of becoming a lawmaker during President Donald Trump's second term, Goodlander made a point to emphasize some basics in an interview with the Bulletin this week: the housing market, health care, and child care prices. 'I think our system is being tested right now in ways that we've never seen before,' she said, during a visit Tuesday to Monadnock Community Hospital. 'Government's not functioning at the federal level in the way that it ordinarily functions where, when, as a member of Congress, I ask a question of the Department of Health and Human Services, and we get answers to that question.' Goodlander harkened back to her work on Trump's first impeachment trial. Prior to becoming a congresswoman, Goodlander worked in a number of non-elected government roles, including as an adviser to several U.S. senators and in the Biden administration. An attorney, she served as counsel to the House Judiciary Committee in late 2019 when the Democratic-controlled House voted to impeach Trump over a phone call he made to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy threatening to withhold military aid unless Zelenskyy announced an investigation of Joe Biden. The Republican-led Senate ultimately voted to acquit Trump in early 2020. Goodlander compared the administration's recent actions to those that motivated her and her colleagues to impeach Trump during his first term. 'The case that we brought is really, at bottom, what we're seeing play out every single day with this administration,' she said. 'We're seeing abuses of power of all varieties, including of the variety that was like the direct case that we brought back in 2019.' She condemned the Trump administration sending hundreds of migrants to a Salvadoran prison without due process, decried Trump's tariff strategy as a senseless trade war conducted at ordinary Americans' expense, and called for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has been embroiled in controversy over mishandling classified information, to resign. Goodlander said that if Democrats were in the majority, she would support an impeachment investigation into Trump. 'There has been no inquiry that has started,' she said. 'But what I can tell you is that we've seen a pattern and a practice over the course of this second Trump administration that repeated itself in the first and so yes, I do believe that there would be credible grounds to really conduct a thorough investigation. But I want to stress that I really believe that there shouldn't be casual talk about impeachment proceedings. This is a punishment that our Constitution really reserves for a very, very select subset of offenses. We're talking treason and high crimes.' Goodlander said it's a priority of hers to help her party win a majority in the House of Representatives during 2026's midterm elections. 'The system our Constitution creates is of three co-equal branches,' she said. 'And we need a check on this administration.' Goodlander cited this as one of the reasons she decided against giving up her seat in the House to run for Senate in 2026. When Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who has represented New Hampshire in the Senate since 2008, announced she wouldn't seek reelection last month, Goodlander openly considered joining the race to replace her. However, she announced last week she would not launch a campaign, instead endorsing U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, who remains the only candidate in that race so far. 'I'm really grateful, and I'm humbled by the outreach that I got from people all across the state who encouraged me to take a look at the Senate seat,' she said. 'The job I'm in right now, I'm on Day 109. … I want to dedicate all of my energy towards ensuring that we have a House of Representatives, which is the body that's closest to the people.' Throughout communication with constituents, Goodlander said she's heard consistently about the rising cost of housing, child care, and health care. As such, those are priorities for her, she said. 'Our system is just simply not working for so many hard-working people,' she said. 'And we're in an environment right now where the big fight is about how we're going to dedicate federal resources and federal programming. And I just can't think of a more wrong approach than the approach that we see the Republican majority in Congress taking and this administration taking, which is to fund trillions of dollars in tax breaks on the backs of hard-working people, and that's going to mean higher health care costs. That's going to mean higher costs across the board.' She singled out housing among these issues as one she hears about constantly. 'Housing is a cornerstone of the American dream, and it is so far out of reach for far too many people,' she said, pointing to rapidly increasing rent and home sale prices in New Hampshire. Asked whether she thinks the constant controversies swirling around the White House are a distraction to addressing issues like housing, Goodlander said, 'We've got to do both at once.' 'We are seeing people — Republicans, independents, Democrats — who are stepping up and speaking out and want to be involved in a way that I don't think we've seen in a long time in this country,' she said. 'And this is what gives me a lot of hope: the people who are coming from across the ideological spectrum, some of whom I'm sure voted for President Trump, but did not vote for what they're seeing happen here right now. They did not vote for the biggest cuts to Medicaid in American history. They did not vote for an indiscriminate, reckless, senseless set of trade wars that are jacking up costs and putting small businesses out of business. This is not what they voted for.'
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Goodlander passes on U.S. Senate campaign
Newly elected U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., has decided against a primary run for an open U.S. Senate seat and instead will seek a second term in the 2nd Congressional District in 2026. The move is a huge political gift to fellow Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, who has already announced he's running to try to succeed the retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, also a Democrat. The decision by Goodlander, 38, means Pappas will likely not face a hotly competitive primary fight. The move means two of the four strongest candidates on paper for this seat are not running. Goodlander's announcement follows the decision of former Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who took himself out of contention earlier this month. Former Republican Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, who lost to Shaheen for the same seat by three points in 2014, is edging ever closer to mounting what would be his fourth Senate race in the two states. The New Hampshire Union Leader first reported Goodlander's news on X after her team contacted prominent Democrats, including Pappas, to let them know of her decision. She gave her first interview about the decision to WMUR after she visited a senior housing complex in Salem Thursday afternoon. "I feel humbled and grateful to so many people across our state who have encouraged me to take a look at the United States Senate, and after a lot of thought and conversations with people I love and people I respect, and people who I had never met before, who I work for in this role right now, I've decided that I'm running for re-election in the House of Representatives," Goodlander said in a statement. Even members of Goodlander's family had urged her not to abandon the seat she had only filled three months ago to try and take on Pappas, a four-term incumbent who has been active in New Hampshire politics for nearly 30 years. They point out by staying, Goodlander, if she wins next year, would be the senior member of the House delegation who might claim a House subcommittee chairmanship should the Democrats seize control of that narrowly held Republican body in the midterm election. The move also sets up Goodlander as the near-certain, Democratic front-runner once New Hampshire's other U.S. senator, Maggie Hassan, 67, decides to retire from her political career. Goodlander's pedigree includes clerking for a U.S. Supreme Court justice, serving as House counsel in the U.S. House's first impeachment of President Donald Trump, working as an aide to both the late Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain and Connecticut Democratic Sen. and vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman, serving in the Justice Department and then working in the Biden White House as an adviser on special projects. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, campaigned for her in person last fall and after her victory made sure the freshman representative got a plum seat on the House Armed Services Committee. Goodlander served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy reserves for 11 years. Her brief political profile has been marked by keeping her own counsel and this decision was no different. Her congressional office did not respond to a request for comment on her decision and she didn't post her own announcement on any of her social media accounts Thursday. This was just how she behaved in 2024 when Goodlander suddenly stunned the political establishment by announcing she would seek the 2nd District seat even though she didn't live there. Goodlander grew up in Nashua, the daughter of former George H. Bush State Department aide Betty Tamposi and local developer Ted Goodlander. After her marriage to Jake Sullivan, who later became Biden's national security adviser, the couple bought a seven-figure home in Portsmouth, at the furthest end of the 1st Congressional District. Goodlander rented a home to run in her hometown and then routed former Executive Councilor Colin Van Ostern, who had raised an early nest egg and landed the endorsement of retiring, six-term Congresswoman Annie Kuster. 'New Hampshire Democrats look forward to supporting Congresswoman Goodlander as she continues her critical work in Congress. Congresswoman Goodlander is fighting back against Donald Trump's disastrous agenda, working to lower costs for families, and delivering real results for people across New Hampshire,' Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley said in a statement. 'Granite Staters in the Second Congressional District have rejected radical Republicans like Lily Tang Williams time and time again, and no matter who enters the Republican primary over the next year, Granite Staters will reject them and Trump's costly and unpopular agenda in 2026.' Last week, Tang Williams, an émigré from Communist China and a former college professor, declared she'd seek the seat a third time, having lost to Goodlander last November. 'I understand freedom & regular people's sufferings/concerns because of my humble background of surviving poverty & tyranny under communism. I will fight for the people,' Tang Williams said. Pappas issued his own statement praising Goodlander's service. "Maggie Goodlander has dedicated her career to service, and we can always count on her to stand up to powerful interests and put people first," Pappas said. "I'm so grateful to call her my friend and teammate, and I'm proud to support her re-election and stand with her in the fights ahead." Goodlander has said their families came from the same part of northern Greece a century ago and said she's proud to support Pappas him in the Senate race. Nick Puglia, regional press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said voters will decide Pappas is too liberal to deserve this big step up. 'Chris Pappas is a radical leftist who voted to raise taxes on New Hampshire's hardworking families, wants biological males competing in women's sports, and supports dangerous sanctuary city policies that protect violent illegal immigrants," Puglia said. "Granite Staters deserve common sense — and Chris Pappas is anything but.' The decision perhaps shuts the door on possible advancement for some up-and-coming Democrats who would have likely run for the seat had Goodlander sought the Senate seat. Former Executive Councilor and 2024 candidate for governor Cinde Warmington of Concord and Sen. Donovan Fenton, D-Keene, had already been making the rounds at events in the 2nd District, preparing to run if the seat became open. In the 1st District, former Obama administration official Maura Sullivan of Portsmouth has announced, already raised $400,000 and attracted the backing of some progressive interest groups. She finished second to Pappas in his first primary bid for the seat in 2018 that attracted an 11-person field. Stefany Shaheen of Portsmouth, the former city councilor and eldest daughter of Sen. Shaheen, confirmed many people are encouraging her to run and she's thinking about it. Republican Chris Bright of Derry is preparing to run as he did in 2014 when he finished fourth in the primary that former Executive Councilor Russell Prescott of Kingston won. Manchester Aldermanic President Joe Kelly Levasseur finished third in that primary and is also getting encouragement to jump back into this race. klandrigan@
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Goodlander passes on New Hampshire Senate race
Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.) won't run for the open New Hampshire Senate seat Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is vacating at the end of her term and is instead endorsing Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.). 'We are in the fight of our lifetimes right now,' Goodlander told WMUR on Thursday. 'I feel humbled and grateful to so many people across our state who have encouraged me to take a look at the United States Senate, and after a lot of thought and conversations … I've decided that I'm running for reelection in the House of Representatives.' Goodlander's decision to pass on the race puts Pappas on a glidepath to the Democratic nomination. And with the state's popular former Gov. Chris Sununu opting out of his own bid on the Republican side, Democrats' odds of holding the seat — or at least avoiding a messy primary — appeared to many observers to have improved. In a post on X on Thursday, Pappas said he was 'so grateful' to call Goodlander 'my friend and teammate,' and pledged to support her in her own reelection. No Republican has officially announced plans to run for the seat. But former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, who was narrowly defeated by Sen. Maggie Hasan in New Hampshire's 2014 Senate contest, has heavily hinted that he may run again in 2026. A spokesperson for Brown didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Goodlander says she will not seek U.S. Senate seat in 2026
U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander said she will not run for U.S. Senate in 2026. (File photo by Annmarie Timmins/New Hampshire Bulletin) Maggie Goodlander, a Democrat and former Biden administration official who was elected in November to represent the state's 2nd Congressional District, will not run for the U.S. Senate in 2026, she told WMUR Thursday. She had signaled she was considering a campaign for the seat left open by incumbent Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen's announcement that she would retire at the end of her term. Goodlander told the TV station she was 'proud to support' Chris Pappas, the fourth-term 1st District representative, in the race. Pappas made his run official earlier this month. 'I feel humbled and grateful to so many people across our state who have encouraged me to take a look at the United States Senate,' Goodlander told WMUR, 'and after a lot of thought and conversations with people I love and people I respect, and people who I had never met before, who I work for in this role right now, I've decided that I'm running for re-election in the House of Representatives.' Granite Staters won't pick Shaheen's replacement until November 2026, leaving months for the field to take shape. Chris Sununu, the former Republican governor who left office earlier this year, ended speculation over his candidacy recently when he told the Pulse of New Hampshire he would not run for the seat. Shaheen's retirement opens up a competitive race as Democrats vie to reclaim control of the body from Republicans.
