Washington, D.C. — Patrick Gaspard, CEO of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, released the following statement on the Trump administration’s announcement rescinding its unilateral pause on disbursement of most federal grant funding:
Nice try, Trump. Spin it however you like, but you lost this round. It turns out the voices of angry Americans across the country are still stronger than a real estate mogul turned wannabe dictator. If the mass outrage we’ve seen over the past 36 hours is any indication, it turns out people don’t like it when funding for public schools, child care, housing, and keeping our water drinkable gets ripped away overnight. The administration’s 180 on this makes clear they lied to the American people, got caught, and only then walked back in the face of public outcry.
But this is hardly the first time President Trump has flouted the Constitution and caused real harm to Americans. Many of those policies were crafted and systematically pursued by the president’s top policy aids, Stephen Miller and Russell Vought.
Given the real damage the administration did this week and its serial propensity to ignore the law, those responsible for this failure must be held accountable. President Trump should fire Stephen Miller, and the U.S. Senate should reject Russ Vought’s nomination to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget. Americans can’t afford for them to cause further pain.
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