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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) spoke on the Senate floor on the 100th day of President Donald Trump’s second term to highlight the disastrous impacts President Trump’s agenda have had on hardworking Nevadans and their businesses.
Throughout the start of Trump’s term, the Senator Cortez Masto has pushed multiple Departments under the Trump Administration for detailed, public information regarding the impacts of President Trump’s federal funding freeze, hiring freeze, and terminations on Nevada – including to the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Forest Service, the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, General Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, and Consumer Finance Protection Bureau.
Senator Cortez Masto has also repeatedly called out President Trump and Congressional Republican’s attempts to slash Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. And she has continued to push the Trump Administration to address the impacts of Trump’s tariffs on working families, small businesses, and Nevada’s travel and tourism economy.
Below are her remarks as prepared for delivery:
While campaigning last year in Bozeman, Montana, Donald Trump said, “Starting on day one, we will end inflation and make America affordable again, to bring down the prices of all goods.”
Well, it’s been 100 days since he entered the White House, and here’s what he’s given us so far:
His tariffs are increasing costs for the average family by more than $4,000 a year.
He has slashed billions from programs that everyday Americans rely on, including $1 Billion for mental health care services.
He has directed Elon Musk and his unqualified loyalists to fire more than 121,000 federal employees delivering essential services – everyone from to Park Rangers tasked with keeping Americans safe to scientists researching cures to deadly diseases.
He’s pushing House and Senate Republicans to rubber stamp a plan to cut nearly $1 trillion dollars from Medicaid in order to give tax cuts to billionaires.
And he’s created endless chaos and uncertainty.
I could go on and on – that’s just how much damage President Trump has caused to our country in 100 days – but I want to take some time to focus on the impact his economic agenda is having on our small businesses.
I’m from Nevada, where there are almost 300,000 small businesses.
These mom-and-pop shops are the lifeblood of our economy and are a part of the fabric of every community.
And it’s these small businesses that are bearing the brunt of President Trump’s destructive tariffs.
Now, I believe targeted tariffs on our adversaries can be a useful tool to protect American jobs and support our national security.
But these blanket tariffs are the opposite of that.
These last two weeks – while back home in Nevada – I got a first-hand account of what small businesses are having to deal with.
I heard these concerns from three small business owners in Las Vegas: Juanny, Santy, and Kristen. All three of these women own shops that serve specialty drinks and incredible food to Nevadans – from coffee and boba to tacos.
In Vegas – as you may know – travel and tourism are the backbone of our economy.
When people come to Las Vegas they don’t just visit the Strip. They go to Chinatown, and the arts district, and all over the valley to patronize our small businesses.
For many business owners – like Juanny, like Santy, like Kristen – their margins are already razor-thin, and tourism is key to meeting their bottom line.
But because of President Trump’s tariffs, we’re already seeing a decline in visitors coming to Las Vegas.
Whether people are staying home because they don’t have any room in their budgets for a vacation, or international tourists are choosing other destinations – Trump’s economic agenda is threatening to crater our $2 trillion tourism economy.
That hurts our small businesses!
And when they can’t keep up because costs are rising, because they have fewer patrons, or because of the higher cost of importing their supplies – they’re forced to raise their prices and pass the burden onto customers.
It’s unsustainable.
And this same sentiment is echoed in the Northern part of our state.
In Reno, I spoke to Mark, a small coffee shop owner who is already asking himself how he can continue to navigate everyday operations amid the uncertainty.
He doesn’t want to pass higher costs onto customers, but if Trump’s erratic tariff agenda continues, he may have no choice.
Trump says Americans must accept short-term pain for long-term gain, but what is there to be gained if hardworking Nevadans have to close the doors of their businesses?
I think to myself, if it’s only been 100 days, how much damage is he going to potentially cause in the next 100?
In the 1361 days left in his term?
It’s been 100 days, and small businesses across the United States may soon be faced with having to close up shop.
What’s going to happen to Juanny, to Mark, to Santy, to Kristen?
Will they make it through the rest of Trump’s term?
I don’t know the answer.
But I hope my Republican colleagues stop rubber stamping Trump’s harmful agenda and actually stand up for working families and small businesses.
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