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Infrastructure projects that benefit rural communities, including in AZ-06, put in limbo because of DOGE firings
Local reporting in Arizona highlights the real world harm caused by Juan Ciscomani’s embrace of act-first, think-later DOGE actions, which is endangering projects throughout rural Arizona, including funding for clean drinking water, nutrition assistance, and hospitals.
DCCC Spokesperson Viet Shelton:
“Arizonans are struggling to make ends meet and looking for their leaders to help lower costs. But instead of helping the rural communities in his district, Juan Ciscomani is cheerleading the reckless acts by an unelected billionaire who is firing veterans indiscriminately and endangering critical infrastructure projects and services that rural Arizonans count on.”
In case you missed it:
Arizona Republic: He oversaw public works projects in rural Arizona. Trump’s DOGE cost him his job
- Burly, bearded and tattooed, Joshua Abbott isn’t the typical picture of a federal bureaucrat.
- He did tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, medical evacuation work in Hawaii, and later defense contracting that took him around the world from Kuwait to Marana, Arizona. He got two master’s degrees from Arizona State University and, most recently, worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development office in Arizona, where he helped oversee government loans for rural public works projects.
- Abbott was one of 10 staffers fired in mid-February from Arizona’s rural development office as President Donald Trump’s administration initiated mass layoffs in the federal workforce. Abbott’s job was to oversee the nuts and bolts of administering government loans for projects such as drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, hospitals, and food programs across rural Arizona.
- He said at the time he was fired he had a hand in overseeing around 100 projects that, together, amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of loans.
- He’s worried about the long-run impact that the layoffs will have.
- “Cutting me out, essentially, does not provide any oversight over where the money has been spent, where the money is being spent, and whether or not those things are being maintained,” he said.
- In an interview, Abbott argued that if DOGE’s goal is to make the government more efficient, then their decision to fire him was misguided.
- He said in-person visits were “not a priority” for the department when he arrived, but he revamped that process, making a point of getting on the ground as projects were underway.
- He said his interventions helped the government’s money go further.
- “It’s so much more than just a loan,” he said. “They can’t afford people to do these things, and they’re running it on shoestring budgets. It’s like, how can we best help them maintain this? Because if we don’t, anywhere from 100 to 500 people are going to be without sewer or water.”
- Another time, he said, the department was struggling to reach delinquent borrowers on the phone or via email. So he drove to visit them in person. He returned with tens of thousands of dollars in hand.
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