U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda met with the Tribune-Herald on Wednesday during a visit to Hilo, where she discussed the potential for a federal government shutdown, ongoing attacks on Congress, the fight to preserve health care funding and efforts by states to shift the balance of power ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Before the interview, Tokuda toured several sites in Hilo, including the Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resources Center and the University of Hawaii at Hilo’s College of Pharmacy. She also met with researchers recently awarded a major artificial intelligence grant and spoke with students and faculty affected by more than $300 million in cuts to minority-serving institutions.
“It’s been a very long nine months,” Tokuda said, referring to what she described as a barrage of illegal actions, rights being stripped away, and the demoralization felt by many Americans since the start of Donald Trump’s second term in January.
Tokuda, a Democrat representing Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District, is scheduled to return to Washington, D.C., today. With a possible shutdown looming, she expressed concern about dysfunction in Congress and what she called a lack of checks on executive overreach.
“No one wants a shutdown, but Republicans control government. Right now, they control the White House, they control the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, and they’ve made it clear that they do not want to negotiate,” Tokuda said. “They do not want any kind of bipartisan solution that will alleviate the pain and suffering of everyday Americans.”
The federal government is at risk of a partial shutdown if lawmakers fail to pass a funding agreement by Tuesday. A recent memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget instructed agencies to prepare for a lapse in funding on Oct. 1 and to identify programs that may be paused or shut down. The memo also warned that some federal workers could be permanently removed if the shutdown occurs.
“It’s not looking good as we head towards Sept. 30,” Tokuda said. “OMB issued some notices to agencies and departments that they should be prepared for mass firings. … This is an administration that has constantly broken all the rules. … I think what they’re trying to do is create as much pain and suffering and fear in people. … This is not how you lead.”
The House recently passed a short-term spending bill to extend government funding through November, but Senate Democrats rejected it, citing the need to restore cuts to health care programs.
Tokuda said those cuts, including a potential $1 trillion reduction to Medicaid and $500 billion to Medicare, would have devastating effects. She also warned that Affordable Care Act premium tax credits are set to expire at the end of the year, which could raise some insurance premiums by as much as 75%.
“Let’s think about Hawaii and the cost of living and for so many small-business owners or individuals where the marketplace is their ability to get health care so they can get preventive screenings, they can get checkups … they can go to the doctor when they’re sick, they can take their kids to the doctor when they’re sick,” she said. “You’re gonna have a lot of people who can’t afford health care anymore, and that is a life-threatening situation.”
Tokuda also criticized a $200 billion cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, saying families are already struggling to put food on the table. Additional work requirements tied to SNAP are expected to take effect Nov. 1.
She described recent tariffs as “everyday taxes on Americans” that disproportionately hurt working families.
Asked how Congress can respond to executive actions, Tokuda said lawmakers need to find new ways to hold leadership accountable.
“We have to create tools we don’t know exist now,” she said. “(Such as the use of) discharge petitions as a way to really force Republicans to show where they stand on the vote.”
Tokuda also voiced concern about redistricting efforts aimed at flipping congressional seats in key states.
“We absolutely have to flip the House,” she said. “I do have concerns about what I consider to be a race to the bottom, where we are literally trying to redistrict, you know, gerrymander to try to change the color of the seats — whether it be Texas, and because of Texas, then we do California, then you got other states thinking about it, as well.
“Americans deserve better. … They deserve elections where we fight it out, civilly.”
Email Daniel Farr dfarr@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
