Ranking Member Pingree Slams Trump for Dismantling Wilson Center, Warns of Dire Consequences for U.S. Arctic Policy

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees the Wilson Center, released the following statement in response to the Trump Administration's decision to abruptly fire more than 100 employees at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars-a critical foreign-policy think tank:

"The illegal closure of the Wilson Center is the latest public-private partnership to be dismantled by the Trump Administration. Congress created this institution to advance independent thinking and thoughtful debate. President Trump has shuttered a renowned center for scholarly research and a forum for understanding and exploring current public policy challenges. At a time when the President himself is focused on the national and international security implications of Greenland, the Wilson Center's Polar Institute-the premier Arctic policy institution in the country-is more important than ever.

Unless this action is reversed, our country-and our policymakers-will lose a valuable resource that bridges the world of learning with the world of public affairs."

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