Sicker, Weaker, and More Vulnerable: How MAGA’s Chaos is Putting You at Risk

Donald Trump promised to lower costs and keep Americans safe. Instead of trimming unnecessary waste and bloat, Republicans took a chainsaw to important services that Americans rely on to keep their food, workplaces, health, and communities safe.

These are cuts that deeply concern Americans in the middle. Third Way’s recent public opinion research found that after costs, the second-best message to move Trump voters was about how Trump was firing highly skilled government employees who keep Americans safe, leaving families sicker, weaker, and more vulnerable when the next disaster strikes. More than 60% of voters disapproved about cutting funding for cancer research, the decimation of disaster relief funding, and the bulldozing of infectious disease research.

Americans need to know how Republicans are putting workers and families at risk. We’ve compiled examples Democrats should spotlight that show how reckless Republican cuts are jeopardizing your health and safety.

“Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans are putting you and your family at risk by…”

Halting food safety testing: Republican cuts mean fewer inspections and increased risks.

• Trump’s mass layoffs ended testing for bird flu in milk and dairy products, parasites in spinach, or pesticides in barley, removing safeguards for food safety.
• Trump’s cuts mean the FDA will reduce the number of food inspections conducted every day, which were already failing to meet targets to prevent public health emergencies.
• Trump fired prosecutors who hold violators of food and drug safety laws accountable, so there are no consequences in cases of death or deception.

Gutting weather forecasting and natural disaster response agencies: Donald Trump is denying communities the tools and staffing to provide accurate severe weather alerts and then abandoning Americans hit by disasters in their time of need.

• Local meteorologists are warning that they are losing tools to confidently predict the strength and path of hurricanes due to staffing and funding cuts, leaving families and businesses without clear guidance and vulnerable in a deadly hurricane season.
• And across the heartland, the loss of this detailed data harms forecasters’ ability to “figure out when tornadoes were going to form, how quickly they might form,” Omaha’s chief meteorologist said.
• After promising "strong action," Trump broke his word to aid communities facing disaster, denying requests for disaster relief for Washington, North Carolina, and Arkansas. Staffing cuts at the NOAA and FEMA will drastically reduce their ability to help impacted communities rebuild.

Undermining proven vaccines and public health: House Republicans’ budget reveals they have no desire to make America healthy and prevent the spread of diseases.

• Republicans are dismantling the nation’s expert vaccine panel, and politicizing the group that makes recommendations on immunizations—including for American children.
• Despite having no medical training, Trump’s secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has unilaterally changed key CDC vaccine recommendations for COVID-19 without any vote by a panel of health experts. These changes could result in insurers no longer covering shots that halt the spread of preventable diseases.
• Amid a measles outbreak and concerns about Republican cuts fired state and community workers administering vaccines in rural communities, tracing disease outbreaks, and testing for infectious diseases.

Crippling lifesaving research and treatments for deadly diseases: Republican cuts are eroding America’s leadership in science and research that gave hope to families facing a life-altering diagnosis or chronic disease.   

• Republicans voted to cut funds for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in half, including halting work to prevent the transmission of HIV, tuberculosis, and lead poisoning.
• Trump’s sweeping cuts to the National Institutes of Health put funding, personnel, resources, and grants for cancer research and treatment on the chopping block that oncologists warn jeopardizes lifesaving advances in cancer care and have delayed treatments for patients.
• They shut down a team of experts providing guidance to doctors on contraception for women with kidney disease, lupus, and sickle cell disease for whom pregnancy carries serious risks. Public health experts have labeled these cuts “devastating.”

Terminating safety trainings for Americans working dangerous jobs: Instead of protecting hardworking Americans, Republican cuts are eliminating resources that help them work safely.

• Republicans fired workers conducting safety evaluations and services for firefighters, including those exposed to toxins on 9/11, increasing the risk to firefighters who have a much greater exposure to toxins and chemicals than the general population and face higher rates of cancer and other physical and mental health challenges.
• And the Trump Administration is shutting down safety training for workers in some of America’s most dangerous jobs including fishing, farming and logging to prevent injuries for thousands of workers performing dangerous tasks at job sites often far from hospitals and clinics.

Hollowing out America’s national parks: GOP cuts are harming America’s crown jewel, our national parks, and increasing the risks to visitors.

• A severe worker shortage awaits families planning visits to national parks this summer.
• Expert researchers at Yosemite National Park are taking shifts to clean toilets, skeleton snowplow crews can barely keep snow and ice cleared from roads in Oregon’s Crater Lake, and some parks are struggling to hire emergency rescue personnel to respond to cases of exhaustion or injury.
• With high summer heat in peak season, park rangers are warning about the safety threat for visitors from understaffing: “We’re at risk of having those kinds of tragedies occur because there’s fewer people out protecting you.”

Driving up health care costs and kicking Americans off their insurance. Republican cuts will put the health and financial security of families at risk.

• House Republicans voted to slash $1.1 trillion from Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and other health programs. As a result, 16 million Americans would lose their current coverage and more than 5.4 million families will take on medical debt.
• More than 330 rural hospitals in Republican-led states stand to lose significant funding. These rural areas tend to see higher rates of addiction, mental illness, and death from conditions like heart disease, cancer, and strokes.
• And for Americans with private insurance, Medicaid cuts drive up their premiums and out-of-pocket costs. Hospitals hit by big cuts may shut down or merge with a larger system, which can lead to prince increases of up to 65%.

Democrats should be fighting hard against Trump cuts that jeopardize the safety of American families and communities. These security issues matter deeply to voters in the middle, who expected less chaos and a focus on security. Leaders should be talking in communities this summer about how Trump and Republicans are making them sicker, weaker, and more vulnerable to disaster. If Democrats hammer these things consistently, there is an opportunity increase Trump’s disapproval numbers and move voters out of the Republican column.