As Hurricane Florence bears down on the Carolinas, Trump is heralding the disastrous Puerto Rico response as an “unsung success.”
Is more than 3,000 dead Americans a success? CNN Analyst Jeffrey Toobin asked the blunt question this morning: “If 3,000 white people had died in Florida or in Texas, would he be saying it’s a success?”
The Puerto Rico crisis happened because of the Trump administration’s wildly inadequate response after Hurricane Maria, especially in comparison to its response to Hurricane Harvey. Nearly a year later, Puerto Rico is nowhere near prepared for what is shaping up to be another dangerous hurricane season.
Now, a leaked document shows that the administration ordered nearly $10 million to be stripped from FEMA (the agency in charge of disaster relief) to fund ICE detention and deportation of immigrants. The transfers reportedly already took place.
For the past several years running, ICE has overspent its budget and turned to Congress to request more money. This manipulation resulted in ICE’s budget for immigration detention and enforcement reaching a billion dollars in the last two years.
What has ICE done with the money? Continued to rip families apart and keep children in detention.
A quote from Senator Jeff Merkley, who revealed the document, sums it up:
“It wasn’t enough to rip thousands of children out of the arms of their parents—the administration chose to partly pay for this horrific program by taking away from the ability to respond to damage from this year’s upcoming and potentially devastating hurricane season.”
Robbing FEMA to pay ICE = putting millions of Americans (and disproportionately communities of color) in danger in order to detain children.
PROTECT THE MUELLER PROBE.
191 criminal charges.
35 defendants.
5 found guilty.
2 people behind bars.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation speaks for itself. Why else is Trump consumed with the supposed rigged witch hunt?
A new CNN poll found that approval of Mueller’s handling of the investigation stands at 50%, compared to Trump’s 30% approval rating on the same matter. Across the board, polls show Trump’s overall approval rating sinking.
Per usual, the president’s response is to lash out erratically at any and all in his path, including his own Attorney General. Last night, Trump’s favorite TV hack, Sean Hannity, predicted that Trump will fire Mueller “sooner than later,” maybe even after Hurricane Florence.
Now, with the imminent threat of a Supreme Court Justice willing to put Trump above the law, it’s more important than ever to protect the Mueller investigation and to raise our voices if it’s threatened.
Visit ProtectTheInvestigation.org and TrumpIsNotAboveTheLaw.org to learn more.