Brown Condemns Trump Cuts, Celebrates Northeast Ohio’s Resilience, Honors Local Leaders in Annual State of the District Address

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11) today outlined how the Trump White House has harmed Northeast Ohioans and celebrated the 11^th Congressional District’s resilient response in her annual State of the District address. Brown also highlighted how her office has continued to deliver, including recently  securing over $12.5 million in federal funding for local projects. 

Video of Brown’s 2026 State of the District Available Here

More than 600 constituents attended the event, which took place at the Arnold Pinkney East Professional Center in Cleveland and included introductory remarks from Robert Miller, Ginn Academy Senior Class President. At the State of the District, Congresswoman Brown also recognized a host of local leaders, including 2026 Grammy Award Winner Durand Bernarr (represented by his family) and James R. Willis, one of the first Black men to serve in the Marine Corps and a practicing civil rights attorney in Cleveland for over 70 years. 

In her remarks, Brown addressed the local impact of Trump Administration cuts to the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and SNAP, responded to Trump’s lawless and dangerous immigration policy, and outlined how her office has responded to support constituents in the past year. 

“Northeast Ohio is stronger than those who want to divide, distract, and dehumanize us. The State of Northeast Ohio is resilient, compassionate, and defiant. We have been hit from all sides by a White House that is stripping away health care, food benefits, and opportunity,” said Congresswoman Shontel Brown. “But we are not standing still and we will not back down. That’s who we are in Cleveland. Tonight’s event was a celebration of our values and a call to action for us to stick together. Despite being in the minority in the House, my office has secured over $12 million in funds for local projects this year, we have beaten back Trump’s attempts to cut grant funding and to close Cleveland Job Corps. I will continue to use my voice to speak out on the cruel and immoral cuts to Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and SNAP, as well as this White House’s dangerous and discriminatory immigration agenda. I am so proud to represent Northeast Ohio in Congress, and I will continue to use every tool I have to stand up for our people.”  

Selected remarks from Congresswoman Brown’s address:

Thank you for showing up and speaking out. 

Thank you for standing shoulder to shoulder with your neighbors… 

Thank you for lifting each other up… and thank you for putting your foot down when this White House tried to tear us apart. 

Tonight, I’m going to give you the real state of our district. Not the spin. Not the talking points. The straight talk. The truth.

Our communities are being terrorized by ICE. 

Our health care is being cut. 

Our food assistance is being slashed. 

Our schools and our local programs are being defunded by Washington. 

Our pocketbooks are being stretched thin by Trump’s reckless tariffs.

Our district is under pressure – and we have a President determined to divide us at every turn. 

A President who is dedicated to demeaning Black and Brown Americans. 

A President who wants to drive working families into the ground, to deliver for massive corporations and the wealthiest Americans. 

I won’t mince my words. 

This year has left me tired. 

Angry. 

Afraid. 

I feel it – and I’m sure you feel it too. 

But in rooms like this. In a district like ours. I draw the strength to fight harder. 

Yes, our community is under pressure. Yes, our country is under pressure. But, the state of our district is also resilient. 

Because when Trump illegally froze SNAP benefits last Fall, local leaders stepped up and stepped in – and neighbors helped out neighbors. 

Because when our federal workers were under attack at the VA, labor of every stripe stepped in to show solidarity. 

Because when Trump weaponized ICE, peaceful Clevelanders from across our district spoke out to say: Not here. Not now. Not ever. 

We have so much to get to tonight — because the stakes are real, the damage is real, and the fight ahead is real.

[…]

Last year, my office returned over $12 million dollars to constituents through casework – our largest year ever in money returned to constituents. 

And that brings our total since 2021 to $17 million dollars. 

Now, “casework” … that’s a bit of a technical term. 

Here’s what else you can call it: your money. 

We’re talking IRS refunds… VA benefits… Medicare…. and Social Security. 

And when a lot of people in Congress turned off their phones and closed their doors during the longest government shutdown in history. 

We kept them on. 

That is how we closed over 970 constituent cases last year. Delivered 319 Commendations and Resolutions.Held 15 Town Halls, Expos, and Benefits events. And all told we had 423 Constituent Events and Meetings.  

[…]

Republicans lit the social safety net on fire to keep the country club warm and to fuel the violence and terror we’ve witnessed from ICE over the past year. 

[…]

I know life feels more and more unaffordable. That’s because it is. 

And here’s what we need to do: repeal the Big Ugly law, which is driving up our costs for food, health care, and utilities. 

We also need to repeal the President’s tariffs, which are making everything from coffee and meat to electronics and clothes more expensive. 

[…]

And we are not at the end of this road—far from it. As we know there are going to be more challenges ahead. More pressure. More chaos. More cruelty. 

But I know this – we never have to do 2025 ever again. 

We know our strength and we know our power. 

We’ve been tested, but not defeated. 

Battered, but not beaten.

Bent, but not broken. 

In the words of James Baldwin, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

So I vow to continue facing the challenges that lie ahead. And I hope you will join me.

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