Leila Faldin

Hi, Michelle.

So we've certainly heard all year about how this administration is trying to scale back one program or another.

Where do these local groups fit into that?

You know, they are on the front line of all of it.

And we're talking about a thousand local anti-poverty groups that date back to the 1960s.

And they sign people up for, you know, housing, health care, food, heating aid, on and on, you name it.

I visited one called HapCap.

It's in southeastern Appalachian, Ohio.

And executive director Kelly Haddis told me, for her, the chaos started in January.

She called it the worst day in her career.

It was when President Trump ordered a freeze on all spending.

Michelle, they were about to lay off everyone at six Head Start centers when the White House then said Head Start was exempted.

So it was a relief.

But that whiplash, she says, really broke people's trust.

And the hits just kept coming.

There were more funding cuts or policies.

pauses, sometimes reversals after legal action.

The White House even proposed ending the block grant that funds these groups directly, even though they have had long had bipartisan support.

And at this point, Hattis says their biggest challenge is just sheer uncertainty, having no idea what might be targeted next.

What has the Trump administration said about why it's doing this?