By Richard Sullins | richard@rantnc.com

Sara has been a registered nurse since the late 1970s, working first for a few years at a small community hospital in the mountains and eventually finding her sweet spot at the Veterans Affairs clinic in North Carolina.

Over the years, her work was challenging, especially during the 1980s when veterans struggled to find anyone who would listen to their issues. She could have retired two decades ago, but stayed because this was a way to serve her country and to care for others who had served.

Last fall, the home where Sara — last name withheld so she can speak freely about her work in government — and her brother grew up was torn apart in a mudslide as the remnants of Hurricane Helene made their way to North Carolina. Now she’s in her mid-60s, and finds herself facing a new challenge that she never saw coming: all she’s worked for could be wiped away in a moment’s notice.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, a cabinet-level agency responsible for providing healthcare, benefits and other services to America’s veterans, is reducing its staffing by 15 percent this spring. Its leaders have said publicly that it’s all about making the organization nimbler. Still, those working in the trenches of the system’s clinics and hospitals say that it’s all about making cuts now, before the Trump administration makes even deeper ones before the new federal fiscal year begins in October.

Here’s what a 15 percent cut in services to our veterans means. In North Carolina, that translates to a loss of 2,600 jobs, and more than 72,000 jobs lost nationwide.

Sara has been a nurse supervisor for more than 40 years. Her primary duty is to ensure that the nursing wings are fully staffed for every shift. Still, a steady turnover rate has forced her to return to the front lines as a bedside nurse, in addition to her clerical responsibilities. It’s the kind of pressure that might have caused others to leave for better pay elsewhere, but she feels a devotion to the care of these men and women. Her mother was a nurse during the Korean War.

Most of her time is spent in direct patient care. However, when reviewers examine what she was hired to do, her job description focuses primarily on supervision and maintaining the paper flow. And that is precisely the kind of out-of-the-limelight position that President Donald Trump intends to cut.

Some, especially family members, worry that a reduction in force of this magnitude will lead to a lower standard of health care for the 620,000 veterans who live in North Carolina. At the same time, others believe just as earnestly that the department is wasteful and bloated, and that the pain of a few cuts now will lead to better care and services in the long run.

For Sara, it’s all about self-worth.

“The worst part is seeing people that I know talk to reporters on television and in the newspapers about how some bureaucrat needs to take a scalpel to our budget and cut out the fat. And for them, a nurse who has been working for nearly 50 years and who is making a good salary is just that — fat,” she said. “But I am the very same nurse who has taken care of their father’s back injuries for years, the ones he got while serving in Patton’s army, the same nurse who cared for him on nights and weekends when his family wasn’t there. And now, they tell everyone who will listen that I am being paid far too much, and that they need to hire a cheaper person and ask me to train them. That makes my blood boil.”

Sara is blunt about her role working for the government, and how it’s seen by the politicians and bureaucrats who make decisions about the flow of funds from Washington.

“If they want to tell me that I’m fat, I couldn’t care less. But to tell everyone and their grandmother that my job is fat, that makes me mad as hell when my own community says that,” she said. “It’s still hard for me to believe that people will turn their backs and say things like that about you. But they do. At least some of them do.”

A new ’sheriff’ creates a hurricane

By 10 p.m. on Nov. 5, 2024, there was hardly a doubt anywhere that Trump was going to make history by becoming just the second American president to be defeated for re-election and then make a comeback by winning another non-consecutive term. Grover Cleveland did it first by being elected in 1884, losing in 1888, and then rising to the top once more in 1892.

It was evident fairly quickly that Trump’s second term would differ in significant ways from his first. After his second inauguration on Jan. 20, the Trump-Vance administration wasted no time, moving swiftly to begin enacting his agenda through existing federal programs across all federal agencies, including those directly supporting counties, cities and towns in every state that receives grant funding, technical assistance, and other resources from the federal government.

A quick sidebar: To implement any new president’s programs, the executive branch of government will frequently utilize existing presidential authority to enact policy changes that don’t require congressional approval. The Trump-Vance administration has used its executive authority to implement policy changes through a series of executive orders and has also collaborated with leaders in his party on Capitol Hill to advance his agenda. Nothing new here, since it’s been done in the same way since the days of Washington and Adams.

And it’s no news flash to say that Trump is unlike any of his predecessors. In using this series of executive actions, he’s continued to push the envelope as part of a greater effort to expand his presidential authority in ways that have been questioned as usurping duties Congress has exercised since 1789. Most notably, these include having the final say over program authorizations and public spending, otherwise known as the “power of the purse.”

And it’s here that Trump’s disruptions are beginning to meet resistance. In programs that Americans depend upon to carry out the essential functions of local government, President Trump’s message is being felt — and receiving pushback — in communities everywhere, including Sanford and Lee County. Local officials are hearing loud and clear, often in boisterous town hall meetings and other gatherings, from people of all parties and political persuasions, that they expect their government to be there when the livelihoods of families are on the line.

In the first week after the inauguration, the White House ordered federal agencies to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligations or disbursement of all federal financial assistance” while the new management reviewed all federal programs for alignment with the Trump-Vance agenda.

Pandemonium ensued, forcing the order to be withdrawn the very next day. On Jan. 31, 23 states sued Trump to end his freeze of federal funds, and a federal district judge has since ruled that the administration can take no action to “pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate its awards or obligations to provide federal financial assistance unless specifically allowed under the law.” The administration has appealed, and the case has yet to be heard.

Trump brought in the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, to make the kind of draconian cuts that he had promised. Classified as a “special government employee,” Musk threw away the budgeting scalpel and instead took a sledgehammer to any federal agencies once thought of by many as sacred.

It’s at this point that the story becomes personal to everyday people like Sara and so many more. Those who make the wheels of government turn are sometimes myopic when it comes to seeing the impact of their actions on individuals and families. Except for defense, no sector of the federal government has been spared as Musk has wielded his hammer, slashing non-defense discretionary funding as much as 25 percent.

While Musk appears now to be bidding a hasty retreat back to his companies, his impact remains, and here’s a look at some of the federal funding that flows through Lee County, which could be impacted were Trump’s recommendations to be adopted.

Lee County Schools

No other segment of Lee County Government depends on help from Washington as do the 17 campuses of Lee County Schools. Through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the federal government has provided vital assistance since the days of the Lyndon Johnson administration in funding for professional development and recruitment efforts to improve teacher and principal quality, supporting English Learners in gaining English proficiency and achieving academic success, and in enhancing access to a well-rounded education, safe and healthy schools, and effective use of technology for all students.

It has been most impactful, though, through its Title I programs that supplement state and local funding for low-achieving children, especially in low-wealth schools. Among the most useful of its tools has been funding for Child Nutrition programs, which allows students who qualify to eat their breakfasts and lunches in school at no charge.

Dr. Chris Dossenbach, who assumed duties as Superintendent of Schools in Lee County a year and a half ago, believes that students have great difficulties in learning when they are hungry.

“Kids don’t learn when they are worried about what they are going to eat when they go home tonight, what am I going to eat tomorrow,” he told The Rant 18 months ago in a wide-ranging interview. “So far, our numbers are up, and it’s looking good that we will be able to continue. And even if the child nutrition program goes in the red a little bit to make that happen, I think it’s money well spent.”

The most recent data from the school district shows $4,232,847.14 in reimbursements for Child Nutrition-related expenses have been received from the federal government through the end of March. Even a quick scan through the websites of school systems across the country finds a strong belief in the value of learning experiences when students are not hungry, and an army of parents and grandparents ready to unleash itself should the federal government cut school nutrition programs is reported among several congressional offices. Dossenbach is optimistic that it won’t happen, but he’s also resigned to remaining vigilant.

“Based on our ongoing conversations with local and state officials, including leadership at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, we do not anticipate any changes to federal funding for the upcoming 2025–2026 school year,” he said. “However, we remain conservative and thoughtful in our budgeting, but the information we have at this time gives us confidence that we will continue to operate with the same level of federal funds as this year.”

Social Security

Social Security has long been seen as the third rail of American politics. Suggesting that its benefits be cut to the Americans who have paid into the plan for years is often viewed as tantamount to political suicide.

The Rant found no record of Trump ever definitively stating that Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits should be cut. 

However, there are plans to reduce the workforce of Social Security employees by 7,000 people, a 14 percent reduction that is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. The agency has been plagued by long wait times for decades, and reductions like these will bring the number of employees working for the Social Security Administration to its lowest level since the 1970s.

What’s worth paying attention to, though, is a discussion that has been taking place for over a year in smaller government circles that would close down some of the SSA’s smaller field offices across the country. Decades ago, the agency made it a point of pride to maintain a presence in most of America’s regional cities.

As time has passed, those smaller offices have become increasingly difficult to maintain, resulting in staff reductions and longer lines for individuals needing SSA services. Such an office has been open on Tiffany Drive in Sanford for years, and a spokesperson for Sen. Thom Tillis’ (R-N.C.) office in Washington told us that there are no plans to close it or any other SSA offices in North Carolina. Tillis is up for re-election in 2026.

But again, it’s important to focus for a moment on how the work at SSA gets done. Computers primarily handle the calculation of retirement benefits, but disability benefits claims are still processed in the same manner as they have been since the 1950s: Each claim requires a lengthy record of documentation, and all that paper must be read, processed, disposed of, and filed by human hands. No computer can do those things.

Meanwhile, the White House is proposing to cut 7,000 of the agency’s workforce, and every day, another 10,000 baby boomers become eligible for Social Security.

Raleigh Executive Jetport

North Carolina became particularly aggressive with its economic development strategies in the early 1970s, when Research Triangle Park was established, and a comprehensive strategy for recruiting businesses and industries was developed through the Department of Commerce. It made prolific use of federal funding that began to flow into the state as well, sometimes coming in the form of funds for infrastructure and other improvements that helped the Park come to life.

Counties like Lee and cities like Sanford found their niche in the pipeline of services that help make large-scale economic growth possible. People from across the country began asking in recent years about the “Sanford Miracle” for attracting a diversified spectrum of industries that are positioned for economic growth now well into the 21st Century.

One of the most critical linkages in that strategy has been the growth of the Sanford-Lee County Regional Airport, a 700-acre site now known as the Raleigh Executive Jetport, located seven miles northeast of the city and 15 minutes south of Raleigh’s outer beltline, off U.S. 1. 

The Jetport plays a crucial role in the county’s overall economic development strategy, serving as a home base for 236 aircraft and approximately 75,000 annual aircraft operations.

Raleigh Exec has recently secured approval from the Federal Aviation Administration for a permanent air traffic control tower to be located on the site, which will enable flights to be managed by trained air traffic controllers from the airport. A limited amount of funding is available each year for this program, and competition is especially tough as projects are selected.

Through the Contract Tower Program, federal dollars are used to cover the costs of air traffic services. Local units of government, such as Lee County, are required to fund the tower’s construction costs; however, a portion of those expenses can be covered by federal dollars if the project qualifies. 

It’s one of the few areas of government where Trump is recommending an increase ($359 million from the current fiscal year), but the project could take three years or more to complete.

And still more

The list of federal projects that bring millions of dollars into Sanford and Lee County could extend for hundreds of pages. Still, these provide a flavor of the types and amounts of dollars that could be on the chopping block as Congress returns from its Memorial Day recess and begins work on the Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget.

The City of Sanford has a smaller number of projects funded by federal dollars than some cities of its size. Still, it does receive funding to address targeted needs, such as Community Development Block Grants, which help address issues of substandard housing and homelessness. 

Like other units of government of its type across the country, Lee County also receives federal funds to support health care, education, social services, infrastructure and a range of public safety needs.