Gov. Stein talks Trump cuts, NC pushback and Musk’s ‘move fast and break things’ mindset
Changes during the first three weeks of the new Trump administration have caused whiplash, doubt and fear among North Carolina researchers, many of whom have seen their funding sources — from the National Institutes of Health and U.S. Agency for International Development — severely cut.
Others have cheered these federal overhauls in a state that helped elect President Donald Trump last November. Spearheading these cost-reductions efforts has been billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who Trump appointed to head the Department of Government Efficiency.
As governor, Democrat Josh Stein says he’s concerned by what he called Musk’s “move fast and break things” mindset and what policies rooted in this approach mean for North Carolina. The state ranks sixth in the nation for NIH funding and is home to two of the biggest NIH grant recipients in Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill.
“I believe in going fast,” he told The News & Observer on Tuesday. “But people need to understand the consequences, that if you go too fast, you can create real harm.”
In the full interview, Stein elaborates on these consequences, the state’s legal pushback, his talks with North Carolina’s Republican senators, and what he would tell worried residents.
The conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
N&O: North Carolina voted for Donald Trump in November, and during the campaign, he promised massive changes to the federal government. Now that some of these policy overhauls have been announced, how do you balance addressing these changes, and at times opposing them, given how the state voted?
Stein: We should always look for efficiency, and if spending is not delivering a return, we shouldn’t do it. But funding research on basic medicine through our university system and nonprofit partners is not waste. It’s how we advance medicine. It’s how we save lives, and it has become a very important part of North Carolina’s economy. And I will always stand up for North Carolina as the governor.
N&O: Many say they’ve felt shaken by some of these proposed cuts to USAID, NIH, and the EPA. What can the state do, or what is the state doing, to counter these policies?
Stein: The attorney general has brought actions to put a stop to those actions by the administration when it’s contrary to law, and that work will continue. I’ve talked to both United States senators, (Thom) Tillis and (Ted) Budd, to express my real concerns about these drastic NIH cuts to existing grant agreements. It’s not making changes in policy on future agreements, but there are existing contracts, and the federal government is changing the terms of those contracts in real time, which is destabilizing and, frankly, chaotic.
So, reaching out to our federal representatives to urge them to use their power as the Congress to ensure that the will of the Congress is respected by the president.
N&O: Did you hear back from Sen. Tillis and Sen. Budd? If so, what did they say?
Stein: It was a personal conversation with them. I was with them yesterday out west on I-40 touring the damage from Hurricane Helene. And they acknowledged what I said.
N&O: Is there a particular policy in the past few weeks that has stood out to you?
Stein: Well, the directive that came from the (Office of Management and Budget) to stop all funding created widespread chaos and confusion among recipients, whether (the Department of Health and Human Services) could continue to access Medicaid payments. Three million North Carolinians get their health insurance through Medicaid. And so the potential for disruption was immense, and could have had life (changing) consequences if the courts had not put a stop to it and OMB backed down.
(N&O: North Carolina’s Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program enrollment was 2.7 million as of last June, according to KFF.)
N&O: What have you heard from constituents in the past few weeks about these new policies?
Stein: Uncertainty and fear. A recognition that North Carolina is one of the leading states conducting medical research and development that NIH funds. One of the top states in the whole country. And for the federal government to unilaterally change the terms of existing contracts has the potential to cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars, which could mean halting clinical trials, disrupting research, closing labs, laying off scientists.
It could be a real blow to the economy here and to the long-term health and well-being of Americans.
N&O: You wrote in a letter Monday to President Trump that you support cutting government waste where it exists. From your time as attorney general, and in your time as governor, do you see areas of waste in the state that would be worth trying to make more efficient?
Stein: Well, let’s continue this conversation, because I’m going through the state budget as we speak. Going through it with a fine-tooth comb.
N&O: Have there been discussions about what the state could do if some of these policies do get implemented? In terms of how North Carolina could fill some of the gaps?
Stein: Not yet. We’ve not engaged in conversations with the legislature about that.
N&O: You mentioned chaos earlier. What do you recommend people who are feeling this chaos do?
Stein: I think the key is for folks who were impacted to clearly communicate to their federal policymakers — their representatives and senators — what would happen if the plan goes through as envisioned.
“Go fast and break things” seems to be the M.O. of Mr. Musk, and I believe in going fast, but people need to understand the consequences, that if you go too fast, you can create real harm, and if you can get to the same place that you wanted to go in terms of changing the structure of a program or reducing expenses without causing harm to people’s lives, that’s the better way to go.
This story was originally published February 12, 2025 at 5:15 AM with the headline "Gov. Stein talks Trump cuts, NC pushback and Musk’s ‘move fast and break things’ mindset."
