As the Trump administration and Elon Musk slash government spending, lay off thousands of employees, cut programs and even whole departments, many people are asking what the Democrats’ plan is. Rep. Alma Adams represents the 12th District, which includes most of Charlotte. In an interview with WFAE's Gwendolyn Glenn, she discusses what Democrats are doing to challenge the Trump administration.
Rep. Alma Adams: People are afraid because they don't know really what's going on. I think for me, as Democrats, we are introducing legislation like the Taxpayer Data Protection Act, which would stop somebody like Elon Musk — who's not elected, who isn't vetted, none of those things that should be, keep him from raiding the Treasury and from stealing information. We helped to introduce the All Access Act, which will ensure that members of the legislative branch have access to federal buildings. You know, we've been protesting. I've been out there at the Department of Treasury and the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, with my colleagues protesting the actions that are going on there.
Gwendolyn Glenn: And for those who have not heard, the departments you just mentioned — the EPA, I understand as well, and at the Department of Education — Congress members were denied access to those public buildings.
Adams: That’s why we got this bill. We should never be denied access.
Glenn: Now you're saying that you're introducing legislation on various issues, but there's a lot of legislation in place now and the Trump administration seems to be ignoring it.
Adams: There are a number of court cases out here and the courts are getting involved as well, and I think we're going to have to rely on the court to call the president down. He wants to do what he wants to do because he definitely realizes that the Republican Party is not going to try to stop him there. As far as I'm concerned, they are co-partners. By virtue of the Constitution, we are the ones who appropriate the funding. The executive branch is supposed to distribute and do what we have set aside for them to do. But I think this president is trying to see how much he can get away with. I call on and I've challenged Speaker Johnson to stand up and to take control of all that's going on, and he has not.
Glenn: Well, let's talk about DEI — diversity, equity and inclusion. Lots of attacks by the Trump administration where DEI is concerned.
Adams: The executive orders that President Trump has put forth to remove DEI programs across the federal government, I think, is wrong. Diversity is our strength. This is a process of division, and if you think about it, Black and brown people are being targeted. And so it tells you a lot about who this president really is, who he believes has worth and value, and that's just very unfortunate.
Glenn: I'm sure a lot of your constituents are concerned as people nationwide are, about plans to dismantle the Department of Education. What are you guys doing in terms of that?
Adams: Well, first of all, like we're out in the cold trying to bring attention to not only our colleagues on the other side of the aisle because they are in support it seems of what the president is doing. The Department of Education provides critical service to millions of students, including 2,000 Title I schools in North Carolina. The Department of Education was created by Congress. In terms of getting rid of the Department of Education, that would have to be a congressional action.
Glenn: And a lot of people have already been affected, wouldn’t you say? With the firings, especially of those who were on probation, new hires.
Adams: You are exactly right. I think maybe the government is too big. I'm not saying that we don't need to downsize some things, but it's a process. You don't just go in and fire people and don't realize what the impact of your actions are going to be down the road. Who will deliver the services?
Glenn: And being in the minority in Congress, how effective can you realistically be? What can you do?
Adams: Now, I can tell you that they're not going to be able to pass anything or do anything without Democrats because there's so much confusion and division within that (Republican) party. They only have a very slim margin. We only need three votes, three people, who are like-minded, who understand, for example, how education is going to impact their communities and their districts. And that's what's got to happen, I think. People on the ground will have to reach out to their members of Congress. Calling me is fine, but we need to call every member of Congress particularly Republican members of Congress and ask them to have this speaker of the House pull this president back and this president should be required to pull Musk back.
Glenn: Have you heard of programs here locally and in your district that have been affected? And could you give me some examples of people who have been affected by some of these policies, actions and executive orders?
Adams: In Mecklenburg County, some programs have been halted, like the students who are homeless and they are served under the McKinney-Vento program. That program has been halted. That means that those students are not being served.
I've talked to folks, for example, in the health community who run community health centers, who tell me that they are getting calls from doctors and so forth indicating that people are not showing up for their appointments, and many of these are probably immigrants.
Glenn: You are going to have a town hall meeting here. What will be your message regarding immigration?
Adams: First of all, we want immigrants to know their rights. We have some information that we're going to be providing to people to share with their immigrant neighbors because I suspect a lot of immigrants are not going to show up because they are afraid. It's a horrible, horrible situation. Immigrants clearly are being targeted. You know, I'm not sure where it's all going to end, but certainly, we're going to try to stand our ground as much as we can. You know, we are in a very serious time and it's time for us to be angry enough to act, to inspire people to not give up, but we're going to keep looking forward and we're going to keep pushing and making sure that we not only get the word out, but that we work to encourage those who can make a difference to use that power they have to do it.
Rep. Alma Adams will hold a town hall meeting on March 6 at Memorial Missionary Baptist Church in Charlotte.
