CAPAC Calls Out Trump’s Harmful Policies; Vows to Protect Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) held a press conference to bring attention to the devastating impact of President Trump’s harmful policies on millions of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) across the country.
In his first 50 days in office, President Trump has put forth an agenda of chaos and cruelty. He has taken action to gut Medicaid, dismantle public education, strip language access, eliminate birthright citizenship, blame aviation tragedies on people of color, and slash funding for vital programs that Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders rely on.
CAPAC Chair Grace Meng (NY-06), First Vice Chair Mark Takano (CA-39), Whip Ami Bera (CA-06), Chair Emerita Judy Chu (CA-28), and Freshman Representative Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10) called out the Trump administration’s harmful policies and highlighted how CAPAC is standing up for AANHPI communities.
“We are united in our commitment to protecting Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders from harmful policies that threaten our rights, our safety, and our well-being. Instead of working to lower costs, as he promised on day one, President Trump and Congressional Republicans are waging endless culture wars. This is not what the American people want. CAPAC will continue to fight tooth and nail to protect our rights, hold our leaders accountable, and ensure our voices are heard. The challenges facing the AANHPI community are real and urgent, but so is our resolve,” said Rep. Grace Meng, CAPAC Chair.
“Before serving in Congress, I spent 24 years as a public school teacher—so when I say Donald Trump has been the most destructive president for public education in my lifetime, I mean it. His latest attack on the Department of Education harms some of our most vulnerable students, from low-income kids in Title I schools to students with disabilities. We will fight this cruel Administration every step of the way and protect our public schools,” said Rep. Mark Takano, CAPAC First Vice Chair and Education Task Force Chair.
“House Democrats stand firmly against the ongoing attempts by President Trump and Congressional Republicans to slash $880 billion from Medicaid,” said Rep. Ami Bera, CAPAC Whip. “These actions threaten affordable, quality healthcare for millions of Americans, including many in the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. We must keep fighting to protect Medicaid and ensure all Americans have access to quality, affordable health care.”
“As Chair Emerita of CAPAC, I will continue working with our Members to fight back against xenophobic policies - like the China Initiative, which unjustly targeted Chinese American researchers, and the terrible proliferation of state and federal alien land laws that ban immigrants from China from even buying homes. We know exactly what to expect from this administration and our path forward is perilous, but our collective power will be exercised and we will always raise our voices to champion the priorities of the AANHPI community,” said Rep. Judy Chu, CAPAC Chair Emerita.
“Today, I stood with my AAPI colleagues to call out the Trump Administration’s actions and their disastrous impact on our community,” said Suhas Subramanyam. “Nearly 1 in 10 Asian Americans and 1 in 4 Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders receive food stamps under SNAP, 141,000 Asian Americans receive public rental assistance, and over 3 million Asian Americans are eligible for Medicaid. This Administration’s policies are cruel, harm our communities, and we will continue pushing back,” said Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, CAPAC Freshman Representative.
Video of the press conference is available here. Photos are available here.
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Founded in 1994, the bicameral Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus is composed of 73 members of Congress who advocate on behalf of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities. The Caucus is led by Congresswoman Grace Meng, who was elected CAPAC Chair in 2024.