FARGO — There are some upset people in the North Dakota towns of Fessenden, Washburn and Lincoln. That's according to a Forum story that ran earlier this week.
The administration of President Donald Trump is taking a dull hatchet to the federal budget and some of the whacks hit a little too close to home.
In Fessenden, a century-old sewage lagoon that needs fixing will not receive an expected $1.9 million from the federal government. In Washburn, a $7.1 million water intake valve from the Missouri River is not feasible without federal money. In Lincoln, millions of dollars won't be coming from the feds to build a new wastewater treatment plant.
Same thing is happening in rural Minnesota. Projects for roads, bridges and treatment plants are having federal money shut off because, according to Trump's administration, the program that funded such projects was "yet another example of a wasteful and ineffective" government.
To which we say: What did you think was going to happen?
Many things can be said about the president, but one of them is not that he obfuscated during his campaign. Trump said exactly what he was going to do if he won the election and he is largely following through. He told the truth, for once.
Yet there seems to be some surprise and angst in places like Fessenden, Washburn and Lincoln that the administration is cutting their projects.
Is it possible rural voters thought they were buying Trump a la carte?
"Give us the mass deportations, trashing of elite universities, hammering of DEI, marginalization of trans kids and owning of the libs but hands off our federal cash."
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Is it possible rural voters in North Dakota thought Trump was going to punish places like California, New York and Minnesota while sparing those who love him?
And the places being hit by budget cuts sure love him. Wells County (Fessenden) voted 80.56% for Trump in 2024. McLean County (Washburn) chose Trump with 78.05% of the vote. Burleigh County (Lincoln) went for Trump to the tune of 70.02%.
Since the administration of Franklin Roosevelt there's been a deal between rural and urban America, between the populous and sparsely populated states. Rural areas often cannot afford large infrastructure projects because of a small tax base, so the federal government lends a hand. The idea is that we're all in this together.
Republicans like Democrats have recognized this through the decades. Republicans would gripe and complain about the federal budget, but would be the first in line to have their photo taken at a federal project in their state.
Now Trump and his minions are laying waste to that dynamic. With much more to come.
And given the unquestioning subservience of North Dakota's all-Republican congressional delegation of U.S. Sens. Kevin Cramer and John Hoeven with U.S. Rep. Julie Fedorchak, it's unlikely there will be pushback or advocacy.
Rural towns and counties might be on their own.
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The 80.56% of Wells County voters who sided with Trump clearly expected something different.
The Trust Project
