Adelup is keeping close watch on how President Donald Trump’s federal funding cuts and layoffs will impact Guam. While the “across the board cuts” is a concern for Lieutenant Governor Josh Tenorio, he says “I’m confident we will be able to navigate any changes that come our way.”

He added, "But I will say that among all of the states and territories, we are enjoying a lot of attention due to our role in the geopolitical situation. I’m confident that the continued investment in the defense of Guam and deterrence that this investment in ensuring that we have some economic strength in dealing with whatever comes our way. I think that we will definitely have to be very open minded about how our government is going to evolve alongside what the priorities of the president are going to be, given what he has made already."

Tenorio adds Adelup is “hopeful the cuts in federal bureaucracy may mean some red tape cuts” for GovGuam at least in the education sphere, though he’s “very concerned” how that will affect special education services. 

Guam Department of Education superintendent Dr. Kenneth Swanson says funding cuts have not affected his agency yet.  "At this point, they have not been affected although we have what amounts to advance correspondence from the Secretary of Agriculture and from the Secretary of Education. The big change for us is how we access the funds we already obligated under ARP, because we have similar large projects being processed. Those mechanisms are being worked out probably in the next week," he said.

In the meantime, Guam congressional delegate James Moylan says he’s been reassured by the administration that staffing reductions will not impact public safety, national security, access to veterans’ benefits, or mission-critical positions among federal agencies.