Seeking Stories: How Have You Been Impacted by President Trump's Executive Orders?
Here are just a few excerpts of stories we have already received.
“I have a daughter with cancer. She is receiving experimental treatment, after a relapse in September 2024. Any research funds that will be frozen directly impact life saving research that could apply to her situation. Grants for her care, Medicaid, distance learning – all deserve our taxpayer dollars to help keep her alive and engaged.”
“Having gone through serious medical issues, particularly stage 3 cancer, as well as my husband who is in remission from stage 4 cancer, we are worried that Trump’s extreme executive orders will affect our Medicaid coverage, as well as my husband’s disability benefits. With inflation, and his mandates, and his unconstitutional policies, we are angry and worried.” - Karen
“I am a constituent from District 3. I'm asking you to protect funding for Kinship and foster care services in Nevada. Right now, 30,000 children in our state can't live with their parents, and their caregivers–relatives and close family friends–rely on essential support to keep kids safe, stable, and loved. The recent federal funding freeze threatens these critical services, putting families in crisis at an even greater risk. Kinship caregivers step up every day–now we need you to step up for them. l urge you to fight for stable, long-term funding for Kinship and foster families. These kids don't have time to wait.”
“I have a developmentally disabled adult daughter, who has achieved success through programs at Opportunity Village and is a resident at Betty’s Village. I fear that the funding that OV has received in the past will no longer be there to support her and her neighbors at Betty’s Village. In Lizzy’s case, she has been able to hold a job at Starbucks for 7 years, thanks to job training and then continuing job coaching. She also reads a lot of news sites, and told me yesterday that she feels unsafe right now. She is very aware of the disgusting, intolerant comments that our current president has said about disabled people, which make a normally happy Lizzy quite sad. I fear that some of his most recent mandates regarding hiring women and disabled persons will adversely affect her job position.” - Suzanne
“I have a 9 year old non-verbal autistic son that needs Medicaid to receive ABA therapy, Speech Therapy, OT, and eating therapy. It is extremely important for children with severe Autism to maintain consistency so skills he has learned don't get forgotten. We also depend on SNAP to help with food costs. I am unable to work full-time because I have to take my son to his different therapies, so every little bit of assistance helps.” - Stephanie
"My son and I both have ADHD and we need our medical coverage for our disability. A lot of people aren't even aware that it's a disability, but it is. It affects our nervous system, executive function, and so many things others take for granted. Without Medicaid, I can't afford our meds and occupational, physical, and speech therapy we need.” - Linda
"A federal funding freeze on the Department of Education would significantly impact various organizations operating in Nevada. The Nevada Department of Education (NDE) has been a primary recipient of federal relief funds, receiving approximately $1.6 billion across three rounds to support COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. These funds have been crucial for advancing equity, teacher recruitment and retention, social-emotional learning, and implementing long-term efficiencies in the state’s education system. Additionally, the NDE allocated $8 million in federal relief funding in partnership with DonorsChoose to provide up to $800 in classroom resources to 10,000 Nevada K-12 public school educators. This initiative aimed to support the social, emotional, and mental well-being of students and address the impacts of interrupted learning.”
“As a special education teacher, my job is currently at risk. If they get rid of the department of education, I will no longer have a job, because IDEA will not be around. Also, if they get rid of the free lunches, my students will suffer. Medicaid helps fund our district and dismantling the DOE will screw over Nevada teachers.”
“I’m a teacher of English language learners. Our ELL programs, as well as Title I, depend on Federal funds. We must not jeopardize our students’ futures!” - Connie
“We previously won a grant to plant trees in high heat, low equality neighborhoods. We work with the City of Las Vegas, the City of North Las Vegas, Henderson, Clark County, the City of Reno and Washoe County. Trees reduce heat, improve air quality and are a resource for our entire community as the environment gets hotter. We currently have a reimbursement, the grant works that way, and cannot even get that back. We may not be able to make payroll as of June because of this.” - Grant
“I have worked for WIC for over 20 years. I am the main breadwinner in my family. We would lose our house, have to file bankruptcy, lose our health insurance and my retirement.”
“I have had to furlough 20 of my workers and discontinue providing all technical assistance and support to all 50 states, DC, and the territories.”
“I work for a company that provides IT support to federally qualified health centers. This week my company had to host an emergency town hall to discuss what this means for our organization. We were informed that the federal funding freeze was impacting payment when our organization attempted to withdraw funds... Staff were concerned that if our members weren’t getting paid, would that mean they couldn’t pay us, and would we lose our jobs? As of now, we have yet to get an update because my job also isn’t receiving communication due to the moratorium on communication from federal agencies. So, we’re just in the dark. In the dark from what my employer is willing to tell me, but they also genuinely don’t know, because they can’t communicate with the government officials they’ve always communicated with.”
“I am a NICU volunteer at Sunrise Hospital with the Ronald McDonald Family Room. We provide a lounge, kitchen, and sleeping rooms for parents of the sick babies. A substantial percentage of these babies are on Medicaid, sometimes in NICU for more than 6 months. Also, our rooms that support these families, as well as the Ronald McDonald homes that provide housing for the families are both funded by grants.”
“If Medicaid funding is impacted, 37% of my clients will be impacted; as a small business I cannot sustain services for clients without timely payment. Medicaid funding freezes would lead to gaps in services, which may negatively impact the behavioral control and skill acquisition of those clients and families. This potential regression will end up costing the state and federal government more money over time, especially if it means kids end up in group homes vs. being able to stay in home in the future. If I lose 37% of my clients, and potential future clients, I may also not be able to keep my business in the black, which may lead to my having to let employees go or close down the business as a whole.”
“I am a mental health counselor in Las Vegas, Nevada. Many of my clients are Medicaid recipients. I worry about their ability to access care if Medicaid and other healthcare or social services funding is disrupted in any way. This could have significant negative impacts on their health and their lives, as they may no longer be able to see their healthcare providers or have access to needed medicines and procedures. I also worry about the ability of my clients to access other related social services (e.g., housing assistance, food assistance, Social Security disability benefits). For many of these individuals, these benefits are a lifeline. These benefits enable them to continue to live a dignified and meaningful life in the face of tremendous challenges and adversities. I urge Congress to act so that these benefits and services are not cut off to these individuals who desperately need them. Everyone deserves to feel safe and secure and cared for, no matter their physical, emotional, or financial state!” - Andrew
“The Valley Health Emergency medicine residency was cancelled without warning. No appeals process. We established this residency, in part, to raise the standard of care for Nevadans. The residency was also established to embed young physicians into Nevada. The loss of this program will directly affect delivery and quality of care to the people of Nevada. We already stand at 48th in terms of access. We are heading toward the 50th. I've been teaching for 30 years. I am proud of living here but I want it to be better for those around me.” - David
“I am a disabled veteran. I have a 70% service connected disability. I use the HUD VASH program to help pay for my rent because I cannot work at this time. I was homeless before I was accepted into the HUD VASH program in 2018. Thanks to this program, I have been in stable housing since 2018, I can focus on therapy and various medical issues by focusing on my medical appointments at the VA. This funding freeze would stop my ability to pay my rent and keep a roof over my head. I am terrified I will be out on the streets if Trump stops the funding for HUD VASH.” - Tanya
“The company I work for was set to start receiving industrial equipment from a company based in Taiwan. The Inflation Reduction Act allowed them to transfer their production to the US. Now that this administration has reversed that, as well as the possible tariffs that would apply to the materials needed, they have canceled the entire venture. This will put about 20-25 hard working Nevadans out of work. I did not vote for this administration, but tried to remain hopeful that they would actually help working and lower class Americans. That hope lasted about 48 hours after the inauguration.”
“I am a 2nd year Union Pipefitter apprentice, and I traveled to Kansas City to work on their Panasonic Battery Plant in De Soto, Kansas. The executive orders that are being issued will impact my and many other apprentices' opportunities to learn to work safely and obtain our 8500 OTJ hour requirement, due to the stoppage in renewable energy funding. This hits us apprentices the hardest because a lot of the 3rd,4th, and 5th year apprentices have a lack of hours due to the pandemic shutdown. This affects ALL building trades apprentices including plumbers, pipefitters, electricians, Sprinklerfitters, carpenters, equipment operators, and laborers, and the opportunity to learn how to work and navigate a commercial job site.”
“I am the Administrator of a Skilled Nursing Facility. Medicaid is one of our main payers for the residents here. My facility's resident population has severely debilitated residents that absolutely have no choice but to be here to live on Oxygen ventilator care and other life saving equipment. These will be mostly long term care residents as well. They come in critical from our hospitals to me for further nursing care. If Medicaid were unavailable we wouldn't be able to afford to care for these people as we do now. From an employee standpoint, we are seeing these marvelous care givers, and they are much needed to remain working here, but are living paycheck to paycheck generally working another job in the same industry as well. Yet we put people's lives in their hands and they accept it with open arms. The assistance of programs that supplement the employees’ children in food and medical care is in jeopardy, and so are we as employers. These programs are critical to keeping the staff in an industry like ours.” - Julie
“My wife has just recovered from stage 4 colorectal cancer surgery. She has a specific tumor genotype that is resistant to chemo. We are very much hoping for cancer research to continue so more effective immunotherapies and mRNA vaccines can be developed. We need to get into a trial for these therapies ASAP. Trump's illegal pause on federal funding could have devastating effects on this progress.” - Craig
“This freeze could remove the source of most of my salary, as well as salary for the student research assistants I supervise. These students are gaining valuable skills that will enable them to be competitive for scientific jobs and contribute meaningfully to our society. The uncertainty created by this freeze means that I cannot apply for grants in the near future, and thus even if funding is eventually returned to previous levels there will still be downstream impacts on my research and livelihood for years to come. Most scientists I know are in similar situations, and scientific progress in our country will inevitably be slowed and damaged by this executive order.” - Gabrielle
“On the day that the Executive Order freezing Federal payments went into effect, we were concerned that it might mean no money for student lunches or federally funded services. Since that time, we have been operating on the worry that the Department of Ed will be terminated along with that funding. Our schools and our community cannot live under these types of random and capricious disruptions.” - Gene
“The Las Vegas VA is being denied new hires with consequent delays or denials of convenient veteran benefits. My wife works for the VA, which is currently unable to hire two outstanding medical doctor candidates. This means that veterans wait longer for necessary medical care and surgery. Many veterans need attention from multiple specialists and prefer the VA hospital to private doctors because they don’t have to make multiple trips throughout the city to various different private clinics. They want a single location where the physicians specialize in and are familiar with veteran issues. At private clinics, they are just faces in the crowd and have to compete with other patients for attention. I fear retaliation against my wife and possibly myself because of President Trump’s viciousness against critics.”
“When I saw my neurologist, he indicated that VA staff had received an email asking if there was interest in buying out their employment contracts. Physician shortage is already problematic in the VA. Other providers such as occupational therapy and physical therapy are also short of staff. All mental health professionals are short of staff. For us disabled veterans, this is scary!” - Marvin
“I am a veteran married to a disabled combat veteran. There is talk of decreased veterans benefits and compensation, and programs which help veterans are warning that they may not be able to continue. I may be mistaken, but doesn't the program which provides lunches for the school children all over the state come from federal funding? We live modestly on the pay my husband receives and do not use food stamps or TANF, but we did need Medicare through the state to ensure our children can receive medical care. Furthermore, I had hoped to go back to school to transition into either becoming an elementary school teacher or an accountant, but everything is so confusing that that may not be possible. One child is in high school now with a second entering high school next year. I'm concerned about their ability to get advanced education, training, or certifications beyond that but I'm definitely researching options. All of my children are young girls, so while I feel reasonably reassured that safe women's healthcare remains available to them in our state, I am worried for the future in that regard as well. I don't want to be excessive or hyperbolic, but these actions feel like an assault on everything America has always wanted to be, and they are going to be responsible for the deaths of many people. I truly hope those who love America won't hand it over to oligarchy and plutarchy.” - Menique
“We are a 100% disabled veteran family. We served in the War in Iraq and Afghanistan. Why does Unelected Elon have control over DFAS? We really rely on our hard-earned DFAS payments to survive! Elon has more power than Congress! This is unconstitutional and illegal!” - Zach