Degraded hurricane forecasts, undetected HIV infections from reduced testing, seniors waiting hours on the phone for Social Security, children lacking enough food, dirtier planes, and longer baggage waits are occurring or anticipated. Those impacts are tied to policy initiatives and budgetary moves at federal and state levels, including actions by President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis. Federal, state and local Democrats characterized the national direction as alarming and invoked terms such as 'fascist' and 'authoritarian.' Elected officials argued that the administration creates distractions to divert attention while institutions are eroded. State officials pointed to housing, health care, and affordability crises linked to legislative choices and tax cuts.
Degraded hurricane forecasts. Undetected HIV infections because of reduced testing. Seniors on the phone for hours waiting for Social Security to answer. Children without enough food. And dirtier planes and longer waits for bags at the airport. Those developments - some calamitous, some merely frustrating - are coming or are already here, a range of Broward elected officials said Friday as they offered their assessments of impacts from a range of policy initiatives and budgetary moves implemented by President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The terms "fascist" and "authoritarian" came up more than once at a "public briefing" convened by U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat who represents southern and western Broward. Wasserman Schultz, as a member of Congress, focused primarily on the federal level. "What the administration is doing intentionally is throwing up distractions in order to make people pay attention to shiny objects to call their attention away from the fact that they are literally eroding our institutions intentionally."
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