Trump’s (Second) First Year in Office

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<p>This week marks one year since Donald Trump returned to the White House.</p><p>And if you’re wondering how things are going—here’s the short version: prices are up, the rich are richer, and our communities are under siege. Meanwhile, President Trump has been laser-focused on dictating to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/21/trump-greenland-military-deal-00739427" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">other</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/08/us/politics/trump-interview-venezuela.html" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">countries</a>, monopolizing power, and winning the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/19/europe/trump-norway-nobel-prize-snub-intl#:~:text=%E2%80%9CConsidering%20your%20Country%20decided%20not%20to%20give%20me%20the%20Nobel%20Peace%20Prize%20for%20having%20stopped%208%20Wars%20PLUS%2C%20I%20no%20longer%20feel%20an%20obligation%20to%20think%20purely%20of%20Peace%2C%20although%20it%20will%20always%20be%20predominant%2C%20but%20can%20now%20think%20about%20what%20is%20good%20and%20proper%20for%20the%20United%20States%20of%20America%2C%E2%80%9D%20Trump%20wrote." rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">Nobel Peace Prize.</a></p> </div>
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<h3 class="elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default">Prices are Up</h3> </div>
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<p>Before Trump was elected in 2024, <a href="https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-campaign-rally-wilkes-barre-pennsylvania#:~:text=Starting%20the%20day%20I%20take%20the%20Oath,and%20we%20will%20make%20America%20affordable%20again." rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">he promised to bring prices down.</a></p><p>He said his proposed tariffs would be <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/remarks/2025/01/the-inaugural-address/?utm_source=chatgpt.com#:~:text=For%20this%20purpose%2C%20we%20are%20establishing%20the%20External%20Revenue%20Service%20to%20collect%20all%20tariffs%2C%20duties%2C%20and%20revenues.%C2%A0%20It%20will%20be%20massive%20amounts%20of%20money%20pouring%20into%20our%20Treasury%2C%20coming%20from%20foreign%20sources.%C2%A0" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">paid by foreign countries</a>, not Americans.</p><p>Well, look what’s happened: As soon as Trump announced his tariffs, <a href="https://www.bls.gov/charts/consumer-price-index/consumer-price-index-by-category-line-chart.htm" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">inflation started going back up</a> and has been elevated ever since.</p><p>And according to a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/economy/trade/americans-are-the-ones-paying-for-tariffs-study-finds-e254ed2e?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqdfsBr5CKlbnayCm07Y0QfdnsS-v8MjLZY9T42wRtE33c48eqlJ6nw54DutHPc%3D&amp;gaa_ts=69701126&amp;gaa_sig=YKnNeQdJ2PkZTwUwcM5xjv-3EzNVKjT8TG9K5PK7nxsM32Valbbpxjxe2HeTf53Poe_eKc-eTsK4OWO0aDql5A%3D%3D#:~:text=By%20analyzing%20%244%20trillion%20of%20shipments%20between%20January%202024%20and%20November%202025%2C%20the%20Kiel%20Institute%20researchers%20found%20that%20foreign%20exporters%20absorbed%20only%20about%204%25%20of%20the%20burden%20of%20last%20year%E2%80%99s%20U.S.%20tariff%20increases%20by%20lowering%20their%20prices%2C%20while%20American%20consumers%20and%20importers%20absorbed%2096%25." rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">new report</a> in the Wall Street Journal, <strong>96% of those costs are being paid by American consumers.</strong></p><p>That’s right. Trump’s tariffs have <a href="https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/trump-tariffs-trade-war/" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">sent prices soaring</a> on everything from groceries to home goods. It’s an intentional <a href="https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/trump-tariffs-trade-war/" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">tax on the middle class</a>, plain and simple.</p><p>But it’s not just items affected by tariffs that are more expensive.</p><p>Electricity costs have risen more than <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/energy-bills-us-increased-13-trump-office-new/story?id=128346091" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">13% nationally since a year ago</a>, including nearly <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/11/24/power-shutoffs-surge-electric-bills/" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">8% in South Carolina.</a></p><p>And Health Care premiums have on average <a href="https://www.kff.org/affordable-care-act/aca-marketplace-premium-payments-would-more-than-double-on-average-next-year-if-enhanced-premium-tax-credits-expire/" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">doubled</a> for Americans who have received tax credits for health care through the ACA Marketplace. Even Americans with employer-sponsored coverage are seeing their <a href="https://www.kff.org/health-costs/annual-family-premiums-for-employer-coverage-rise-6-in-2025-nearing-27000-with-workers-paying-6850-toward-premiums-out-of-their-paychecks/#:~:text=Annual%20Family%20Premiums%20for%20Employer,Out%20of%20Their%20Paychecks%20%7C%20KFF" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">premiums rise by 6%.</a></p> </div>
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<img alt="Bar chart titled “Net Average Annual Change in Resources per Household, 2026 to 2034.” It shows households in the lowest income groups losing resources while higher-income groups gain, with the largest increase—about $12,000 annually—going to the highest income households." class="attachment-full size-full wp-image-5670" height="423" src="https://clyburn.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/OBBBA_Distributional_Effects_2.png" width="640" /> </div>
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<p style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/publication/61387#data" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">Congressional Budget Office; staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation</a></p> </div>
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<h3 class="elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default">Trump’s “tax cuts”</h3> </div>
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<p>Now, let’s be fair: <strong>Trump kept his promise to extend his 2017 tax law in passing his “big, beautiful bill.”</strong></p><p>But it’s not so simple.</p><p><strong>Because </strong><a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/7-ways-the-big-beautiful-bill-cuts-taxes-for-the-rich/?utm_source=chatgpt.com#:~:text=This%20analysis%20documents,by%20deficit%20cost." rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>two-thirds</strong></a><strong> of the $3.4 trillion in tax breaks in that bill go straight to the richest 10% of Americans</strong>.</p><p>That’s $2.3 trillion for the richest 10% of households. And $1.1 trillion for the bottom 90% of Americans.</p><p>And it gets even worse: To “pay for” some of the bill, Trump and Republicans pushed through the largest cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance in American history. As a result, 7.5 million will lose their health coverage while 4 million will see their SNAP benefits <a href="https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/by-the-numbers-harmful-republican-megabill-takes-food-assistance-away-from" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">terminated or cut.</a></p><p>If your household earns less than <a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2025/07/03/the-gop-s-megabill-would-balloon-the-country-s-debt/?utm_source=chatgpt.com#:~:text=On%20average%2C%20people%20earning%20less%20than%20about%20%2455%2C000%20a%20year%20would%20be%20net%20losers%20from%20the%20House%20bill%2C%20according%20to%20the%20CBO%20forecast.%20Middle%2Dincome%20taxpayers%20would%20save%20between%20%24500%20and%20%241%2C000%20a%20year%2C%20while%20the%20top%2010%25%20would%20see%20gains%20of%20about%20%2412%2C000." rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">$55,000 a year,</a> chances are you’ll end up worse off. And with over <a href="https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/what-does-the-one-big-beautiful-bill-cost/#:~:text=The%20One%20Big%20Beautiful%20Bill%20Act%20will%20cost%20%243.4%20trillion%20over%20the%20next%2010%20years%2C%20and%20more%20than%20%244%20trillion%20when%20accounting%20for%20additional%20interest%20owed%20on%20the%20national%20debt.%20Read%20below%20for%20a%20breakdown%20of%20these%20costs%2C%20year%20by%20year%20and%20provision%20by%20provision.%C2%A0%C2%A0" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">$4 trillion added to the national debt</a>, interest rates on car loans, mortgages, and small business financing are all heading higher.</p> </div>
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<h3 class="elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default">Immigration</h3> </div>
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<p>Trump pledged “mass deportations” of undocumented immigrants. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what he’s doing—and worse.</p><p>His administration has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/federal-drug-prosecutions-fall-lowest-level-decades-trump-shifts-focus-2025-09-29" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">diverted resources</a> away from law enforcement and national security activities towards carrying out deportations—prioritizing deporting hardworking people who are making positive contributions to their communities <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/federal-drug-prosecutions-fall-lowest-level-decades-trump-shifts-focus-2025-09-29" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">over combating real threats to public safety.</a></p><p>And to make this possible, Trump’s “big, beautiful bill”—the same bill that cut taxes for billionaires and health care for millions of Americans—<a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/01/21/nx-s1-5674887/ice-budget-funding-congress-trump" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">spent $85 billion to expand ICE’s budget.</a></p><p>With a new budget of <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/01/21/nx-s1-5674887/ice-budget-funding-congress-trump#:~:text=Under%20the%202025,from%20recent%20years" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">$30 billion-a-year</a>, ICE is now the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/01/21/nx-s1-5674887/ice-budget-funding-congress-trump#:~:text=Just%2010%20years,its%20disposal." rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">highest-funded</a> law enforcement agency in America.</p><p>What are we getting for that investment?</p><p>An army of under-trained, militarized officers patrolling our neighborhoods in shiny new <a href="https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/ice-trump-deportation-suvs-100-million-b2813674.html" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">$100,000 SUVs</a>—<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2026/01/21/minnesota-minneapolis-off-duty-police-targeted-ice/" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">racially profiling people</a>, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/20/us/protestors-tear-gas-pepper-balls" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">attacking peaceful protesters</a>, and, just two weeks ago, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/08/us/renee-nicole-good-minneapolis-ice-shooting-hnk" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">killing an unarmed woman in Minnesota</a>. This week, they detained a 5-year-old in Minnesota. When will this end?</p><p>This is not safety. This is Trump’s vision of “law and order”—and its sowing chaos in our communities.</p><p>And let’s be clear: These ICE agents aren’t highly-trained members of our armed forces or law enforcement agencies.</p><p>No. ICE is now spending <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/12/31/ice-wartime-recruitment-push/" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">$100 million on a &#8220;wartime&#8221; recruitment effort</a>—aiming to hire <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/12/31/ice-wartime-recruitment-push/#:~:text=The%20Department%20of%20Homeland%20Security%20has,people%2C%20according%20to%20ICE%E2%80%99s%20website." rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">10,000 new agents</a>, many with no law enforcement background, with only eight weeks of training and up to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/12/31/ice-wartime-recruitment-push/#:~:text=To%20bolster%20its%20recruiting%2C%20the%20agency%20has%20removed%20its%20age%20limits%20for%20applicants%20and%20offered%20signing%20bonuses%20of%20up%20to%20%2450%2C000.%20A%20job%20listing%20on%20a%20federal%20hiring%20board%20said%20the%20salaries%20for%20many%20deportation%20officers%20could%20range%20from%20%2450%2C000%20to%20%2490%2C000%20a%20year." rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">$50,000 sign up bonuses</a>. They’re reportedly recruiting people based off of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/12/31/ice-wartime-recruitment-push/#:~:text=The%20spending%20would,hiring%20marketing%20strategy.%E2%80%9D" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">MAGA-aligned interests</a>, not suitability for the role.</p><p><strong>Let’s be clear:</strong> Americans don’t want this. We need immigration enforcement and reforms that are fair, effective, and humane—not a political show of force that takes control of American communities.</p> </div>
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<p>So, after a year of Trump here we are:</p><ul><li><strong>Costs are up.</strong></li><li><strong>The rich are richer.</strong></li><li><strong>Communities across this country are being turned into militarized zones.</strong></li></ul><p>And Trump is focused on his personal dominance and glory.</p><p>But don’t worry. According to Trump, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBmrqVMLxXk" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank">“The best is yet to come.”</a></p><p>If that means the next three years are anything like this one, I’ll be continuing to push back every step of the way.</p><p>Sincerely,</p><p>Jim</p> </div>
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