PROVIDENCE, RI – As President Trump approaches his first 100 days in office at the end of the month, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo gathered in Providence today to highlight the economic chaos and financial damage President Trump has caused for families and small businesses and warn that the President could induce a recession unless he changes course.

Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation says the Trump Administration, Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and Congressional Republicans continue to threaten Rhode Islanders’ Social Security benefits, Medicaid coverage, nutrition assistance, and federal investments in science and education in favor of a billionaires-first tax agenda.

President Trump’s scattershot and indiscriminate tariff plan will force families to pay nearly $5,000 more each year.  It has already wiped out trillions of dollars from the stock market and is raising costs and uncertainty for American families and manufacturers.

Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation visited Farm Fresh today to discuss the impact Trump’s policies are having on everything from food prices to health care and the instability it’s causing for consumers and businesses alike.

“Donald Trump is a one man financial crisis and has single-handedly driven down consumer confidence and forced up prices with his reckless tariff taxes.  He inherited an economy that was on the upswing and senselessly decimated it with policies that raised prices, deterred investment, and needlessly triggered financial turmoil.  So far, Trump’s economic policies have been a disaster for Main Street and a nightmare for Wall Street.  Instead of increasing costs on consumers and businesses, President Trump must reverse course and work with Democrats to actually lower prices and get our economy working and growing again,” said Reed.

“Rhode Island is a small business state, and the Trump Tariffs are saddling many business owners with major economic uncertainty,” said Whitehouse.  “Trump is constantly changing his mind about how and when he’s going to slap tariffs on our allies so Republicans can help pay for big tax cuts for giant corporations and the wealthy.  That leaves small business owners wondering which products they’ll be able to stock and at what cost, and whether they’ll be able to make payroll.”

“Donald Trump’s first 100 days have been an economic disaster,” said Magaziner.  “This is to be expected from an administration of out-of-touch billionaires with no idea what working people go through on a daily basis.  The Trump Administration’s assault on essential programs even includes education – as they have proposed cutting funding for public schools and job training.  I’ll keep fighting alongside the rest of the Rhode Island Congressional delegation to protect education funding, push back against Trump’s extremism, and stand up for our state.”

“Over the past 100 days, Donald Trump has unleashed a torrent of chaos and confusion on a number of fronts.  This isn’t fear mongering.  Rhode Islanders are right to be afraid when they see the largest number ever — $880 billion — in proposed cuts to Medicaid,” said Amo.  “Yet Medicaid isn’t just a government program; it’s about universal values.  Make no mistake, as a united delegation, we’ll keep sounding the alarm every day until these harmful proposals are defeated for good.”

Americans are not buying President Trump’s false claims about the prices of gas, eggs, and other groceries: President Trump claimed that gas costs $1.98 per gallon in some states when the national average price is currently $3.17 per gallon and $2.94 in Rhode Island.  Additionally, Trump claimed egg prices are down 94 percent since he took office.  The national average price of eggs in March 2025 was $6.23 – setting an all-time high for the third straight month.  And elsewhere at the grocery store, Americans are paying more for things like coffee – the average price of coffee in March 2025 was $7.38 – up 15 percent since the beginning of the year, while the national average price of ground beef in March 2025 was $5.79, a 3 percent increase from the previous month.

“In Rhode Island, nearly 40 percent of our population is food insecure.  This means over 42 million meals missed last year by children, seniors and low-income families. The proposed cuts to the SNAP program will not help Rhode Island to lower these awful numbers. The actions of the current administration, including recent USDA funding terminations, are exacerbating this problem by eliminating programs that connect local food from Rhode Island into schools, and the emergency food system.  Any cuts to SNAP are also cuts to our local economy.  Many local farmers and fishers benefit from SNAP redemption at farmers markets statewide.  It is imperative for the state's well-being that we empower local farmers, fishers and food producers to be part of the solution to end hunger, raise healthy children and boost our local economy,” said Jesse Rye, Executive Director of Farm Fresh Rhode Island.

Trump’s trade war has created chaos for the economy, driving prices up for families and small businesses.  The President’s blanket tariffs on nearly every product imported into the U.S., including 25 percent tariffs on Canada, Rhode Island’s biggest international trading partner, has already impeded businesses in our state.  The tariffs have increased the cost of imported goods and raw materials on which small businesses depend.  These rising costs have slowed production, reduced competitiveness, and left business owners scrambling.  International travel to the United States has declined sharply since President Trump returned to office, threatening Rhode Island’s tourism industry in the busy summer months ahead.

Consumer confidence is down nearly 30 percent and the value of the dollar is down nearly 10 percent since President Trump took office.  Prices on everyday goods are expected to climb, with year-ahead inflation expectations hitting 6.7% in April – the highest reading since 1981.  The stock market has dropped considerably, causing retirement plans and savings to plummet as the risk of a recession skyrockets. 

The Trump administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency are threatening the stability of Social Security benefits for the over 230,000 Rhode Islanders who receive them through customer service cuts and staff firings and buyouts.  President Trump and Congressional Republicans are also trying to take health care coverage from many of the nearly 330,000 Rhode Islanders – 30 percent of the state’s population – who are enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP.  To pay for trillions in tax cuts for mega-corporations and the wealthy, Republicans are preparing to pass a bill with $880 billion in Medicaid cuts.  Approximately 44 percent of births in Rhode Island are covered by Medicaid, and half?of all Rhode Island kids are enrolled in Medicaid.