Rep. Pappas to Portsmouth leaders: Trump team 'breaks things,' puts funds at risk

PORTSMOUTH — U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas met with city officials Wednesday to talk about what he sees as missteps by the Trump administration that are affecting federal funding for local communities.

The Democratic 1st District congressman told city officials that “as so much pressure is being put on local taxpayers, on local leadership, we need to make sure the federal government is a good partner that you can count on.”

“We’ve seen a lot that is deeply concerning over the last few weeks, the change in the administration, executive orders being put in place,” Pappas said during the late morning meeting in City Hall. “Our office has been fielding a number of calls and concerns from local communities, from nonprofit organizations, from federal grantees.”

He added his office has “talked to health centers that haven’t been able to draw down the funds that they need.”

More questions than answers

Pappas called the issues being raised about how Trump’s decisions are impacting federal funds “legitimate concerns. We’ve got more questions than answers in a lot of these areas but are working to chase down information where we can."

Pappas told the group of about 20 city officials “important deadlines” are coming up for the federal government, including on March 14.

That’s when federal monies will expire if there’s not a bipartisan agreement reached on government appropriations, Pappas said.

That could lead, he said, to a federal government shutdown, which “no one wants to see happen.”

Common ground for solutions?

After the meeting, Pappas said, “There’s so much common ground out there in terms of what we should be focused on,” including “the cost of living and making sure that life is less expensive, whether it’s for housing or childcare or groceries.”

That, he said, “should be at the top of everyone’s list in Washington.”

Although Pappas criticized the new administration’s actions, he rarely mentioned President Donald Trump by name, if at all.

“I think the steps that we see being taken aren’t ones that are designed to lower costs, it’s really a disruptive process that I think will adversely impact vital funding that’s invested in New Hampshire,” Pappas said.

The new administration’s approach, he said, is “designed to break things and move quickly, and I think the American people have been kind of left in the dark about what’s happening on a day-to-day basis.”

Concern and anxiety

“That’s no way to run a government, I do hope there’s some common ground and we can focus primarily on the economy and lowering costs,” he said. “I’ll work with anyone who has good ideas on that front.”

Asked about the mood of people he speaks to, Pappas said, “there’s a lot of concern and anxiety, and I think that’s been the case for a long time.” “We’ve been through a lot over the last few years in this country, from the pandemic to high inflation, certainly the political arena doesn’t give people a lot of confidence,” he said.

$3 million-plus at risk in Portsmouth

Nathan Lunney, the deputy city manager for finance and administration, repeated for Pappas during Wednesday’s meeting that efforts by Trump to freeze federal loans and grants could potentially cost the city about $3 million.

Pappas said if he was “being optimistic, I would want to believe that traditional sources of funds, formula funds, from the Highway Fund, to state revolving funds, are things that have widespread support across the country.”

But he acknowledged “there’s going to be some serious challenges to spending in a variety of different areas, including those that are widely accepted and supported. I think everything is at risk right now."

Peter Britz, the city’s director of planning and sustainability, said the city doesn’t have “a lot of federal money in the pipeline” related to his department. But, he reported, “we’ve done a lot of our work on climate action, environmental protection, natural resources through federal funding.”

A request for a response on Pappas’ comments was sent to the White House Office of Communications late Wednesday afternoon.