On Wednesday, Republicans on the Rules Committee held a hearing in the middle of the night – all in the hopes that the American people would be asleep – to rush through their unpopular GOP Tax Scam bill that aims to give a massive tax break to the top 1%. Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, delivered the following testimony:

“Good morning, Chairwoman Foxx and Ranking Member McGovern.

Well, here we are. Republicans have dragged us here in the dead of the night under the guise of having a productive hearing about the GOP Tax Scam bill, but the truth is that Republicans couldn’t care less about how bad this bill is. They are going to sit here and ignore every single thing that I and my Democratic colleagues have to say about this bill and how it will harm hard-working American families.

And it’s all because they are afraid of Donald Trump.

They are so afraid of Donald Trump that they will gladly allow the American people to serve as collateral damage to the $5 trillion handout to billionaires in this bill. They are so afraid of Donald Trump that they are okay with him getting richer, while their constituents get poorer. This isn’t hyperbole – this is real life. This bill cuts programs that will literally make American families poorer, and make Donald Trump and his billionaire donors richer.


I was there at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau after Trump and Elon Musk illegally attempted to shut down the Bureau. I heard from consumers about what shutting down the agency means for them. This is the very same agency that following the 2008 financial crisis, which many of us in this room remember, was created to stop predatory financial institutions from ripping off our constituents. The same agency that has saved American families $21 billion by returning to them funds that were swindled out of them. Trump failed to shut the agency down in Court, so now they’re soliciting the help of Republicans.

This budget scheme will slash the Bureau’s budget by 70%, and put the agency’s crucial work – like cracking down on illegal junk fees, tackling discrimination in housing, and protecting servicemembers and students from scams – to a grinding halt. This is all to cut taxes for billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk.

Republicans are also pushing to gut the Financial Stability Oversight Council and Treasury’s Office of Financial Research – agencies that are designed to prevent another financial crisis like the one in 2008. They are eliminating funding for affordable housing construction despite a national homelessness crisis. I also showed up at HUD because I know the harm this will pose to families. They are also so desperate to do Trump’s bidding that they’re eliminating another agency that doesn’t cost taxpayers anything, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which oversees auditors to prevent frauds like Enron and ensure that companies controlled by the Chinese Communist Party are on the up.

What’s even more sinister about Republicans dismantling our financial institutions is that they are doing this in the middle of an economic crisis.

Our economy is falling behind Europe, China, and Canada. Americans are so economically anxious that they are holding off on starting a family and buying a home. The so-called “pro-family party” is making it harder for Americans to have kids and ripping away the American dream of homeownership.

Inflation is rising. The dollar is down. Yields are up, and borrowing is getting more expensive. And just this past Friday, Moody’s lowered the United States credit rating because of Trump’s reckless tariff policies and growing concerns about how this bill will jack up our debt by giving a massive, unnecessary handout to billionaires.

Don’t forget he is also carrying out the most egregious crypto scheme in history – a scam that is enriching himself and his family, while average investors lose money.

But nothing in the bill addresses this crisis Trump has thrown the U.S. economy in. He’s put us in this position. Republicans, let’s face it – you’re not serious about helping your constituents. You only care about kissing up to King Trump. This isn’t what the American people elected us for.

I yield back the balance of my time.”

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