“Who’s Served by This Economy?” Warnock Makes Clear Who President Trump’s Economy is Helping and Hurting in Senate Banking Hearing

Yesterday, during a Senate Banking committee hearing, Senator Reverend Warnock detailed how President Trump's economic policies are hurting ordinary Americans

President Trump's policies and domestic agenda have added an enormous amount of money to the national debt without alleviating prices for American families

Nearly 1 in 20 households-equivalent to roughly 14 million Americans-are severely behind on their utility bills and risk facing collections

In the past year, nearly 40% of Americans have had to turn to credit cards to pay their bills and pay for everyday essentials

Senator Reverend Warnock: "So, who's served by this economy? There's a long range of people who seem to be suffering. Who's served by the economy-the Trump economy?"

Washington, D.C. - Yesterday, during a U.S. Senate Banking Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) detailed how President Trump's economic policies are hurting ordinary Americans and benefiting the ultra-rich. A recent Fox News poll found that more than half of all voters feel that President Trump's economy helps rich people, and three out of five voters feel pessimistic about the economy overall.

"So, who's served by this economy? There's a long range of people who seem to be suffering. Who's served by the economy-the Trump economy?" Senator Warnock asked. "[Donald Trump] has been at it for 18 months. He's raised costs for everybody, shredded a safety net meant to catch people during tough times. This Trump economy isn't just bad-for me-it's a moral abomination."

Since assuming office in January 2025, President Trump's policies and domestic agenda have raised costs for American families. Washington Republicans' signature legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, forced millions of Americans off their health care due to premium price hikes in Affordable Care Act health plans. The Republican tax and spending legislation is also responsible for $186 billion in nutrition cuts from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) a cuts in the program have resulted in SNAP participation already falling by more than 4.3 million people, including 700,00 children, with more cuts yet to come. Republican policies have put an enormous strain on American families trying to make ends meet.

As a leader on the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Senator Warnock continues to push back against the Trump administration's reckless economic policies and the rising prices it creates for ordinary Georgians.

Watch the Senator's full remarks HERE

See below a transcript of today's hearing exchange

Senator Reverend Warnock (SRW): "Well, thank you so much. Your introduction was prescient, you'll see why, Brother Chair. According to a recent Fox News poll, more than half of all voters feel that President Trump's economy only helps rich people, with an additional 15% saying his economy helps "no one". And that same Fox News poll found that three out of five voters feel pessimistic about the economy. Doesn't matter much what those of us on this panel feel, it's what the American people feel. Consumer sentiment is near record lows. Ordinary Americans know Donald Trump's economy isn't working for them.

"Dr. Morgan, you're an expert on the economy. I don't know your faith tradition, or if you share a particular faith tradition at all, but I'm a Matthew 25 Christian. Meaning, I like to center my work on the least among us, the poor, the most marginalized. Isaiah, whom I've been reading a lot lately, says, 'Who are you to crush my people, to grind the face of the poor?' So, I want to dig into that verse from Matthew 25 to assess the Trump economy. It says, 'For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink'. Dr. Morgan, how have the president's policies been for hungry Americans?"

Dr. Julie Margetta Morgan (JMM): "Senator Warnock, the president's policies have pushed more and more Americans into hunger. We've seen actually 4 million people lose their SNAP benefits under this administration, as about 700,000 of them were children. And the Century Foundation's own polling shows that one in three Americans have skipped meals in order to deal with their, their cost of living crisis."

SRW: "You said 4 million Americans? And you said 700,000 of the Americans kicked off of SNAP are children?"

JMM: "That's right."

SRW: "Because I met with the Speaker and others, and you know they're saying that they're, that you know, these are able-bodied men who are kicked off of SNAP, but you're saying these cuts are leaving children food insecure?"

JMM: "That's right."

SRW: "Let's try another one. The text goes on to say, 'for I needed clothes, and you clothed me'. Dr. Morgan, how have the president's policies been for poor, unemployed, or unhoused Americans?"

JMM: "The president's-the tax cuts alone had a massive effect on low-income families. Low-income families actually lost money under H.R. 1 to the tune of about $1,200."

SRW: "That's the One Big Beautiful Bill?"

JMM: "That's right. But the Trump administration has also taken other actions that directly target poor and unhoused families. The Trump administration has attempted to impose time limits and work requirements on rental assistance. They've proposed cuts and changes to programs that support the homeless. And then rising utility costs are also hurting the poorest families as well."

SRW: "Matthew 25 says, 'For I was sick, and you looked after me'. What about the President's health care policies, especially when it comes to health care affordability?"

JMM: "This is really an acute problem for families right now. We've seen cuts to Medicaid that have taken insurance away from families. We've seen the failure to extend the ACA premium tax credits that has jacked up the cost of health insurance premiums for many American families. We're also seeing increasing costs on employer-sponsored plans. So, people are really faced with the choice right now of being uninsured or choosing kind of like a skimpier health insurance plan in order to get coverage, and at the same time-"

SRW: "The Trump administration and Washington Republicans cut $1 trillion out of Medicaid-they call it waste, fraud, and abuse. Is it fair to say they cut more than waste, fraud, and abuse?"

JMM: "That is correct. They cut care for American families."

SRW: "'For I was a stranger'-the text says-'and you invited me in'. How has the Trump economy been for law-abiding immigrants and dreamers living in the shadows?"

JMM: "We've seen a kind of xenophobic attack on our immigrant neighbors. We're seeing families who are afraid because of the actions of ICE to go to work and to send their families to school. It's incredibly crushing, both for those families and for their communities and those of us who live among people, and then we've also seen this, these attacks to try to take away benefits and programs from law-abiding immigrants, so it's hugely concerning."

SRW: "So, who's served by this economy? There's a long range of people who seem to be suffering. Who's served by the economy-the Trump economy?"

JWW: "I mean, it serves the rich, right? It serves Donald Trump himself, it serves his billionaire colleagues, and it serves, you know, the banks who are represented here at this hearing, who have gotten the Trump administration to roll back protections for working families in order to maintain their profits."

SRW: "I'm a few seconds over, and so I'm going to bring this to closure, Brother Chair. But Donald Trump has been president for 18 months, and while he and his advisors love to blame Joe Biden, Joe Biden, Joe Biden for rising costs, Americans elected him to lower costs. He's been at it for 18 months, he's raised costs for everybody, shredded a safety net meant to catch people during tough times. This Trump economy isn't just bad, for me, it's a moral abomination. This is bigger than politics, it's about humanity.

Thank you so much for your testimony."

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