Democratic mayors on Thursday challenged President Donald Trump’s risk of cutting federal investment for their cities by ordering administration officials to identify cash flow to what he called “anarchist jurisdictions” that have noticed violent protests in recent months amid calls to racial justice.
A memorandum ordering the review, released Wednesday, is known in particular to Washington, D.C., Portland, Seattle and New York.
Experts have a legally dubious risk of Trump.
The move comes when the president lags behind his Democratic opponent Joe Biden and must frame the election, now in two months, in terms of “law and order,” while diverting attention from scrutiny of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic..
The president’s strength to bring the risk to a close was temporarily thwarted, as target cities have already promised to mount a legal challenge, and the Democratic-led House Appropriations Committee said the order violated Congress’ role in allocating federal dollars.
“Instead of doing his homework and helping heal our nation, President Trump once rekinded the department for political gain,” said Evan Hollander, spokesman for the committee’s chairman, Rep. Nita Lowey, New York.”This order invades the law, strength of Congressional portfolio, will never rise in court, and it’s nothing more than a distraction from the fact that Americans are less under the Trump administration.”
Federal investment is channeled to cities in a variety of ways, adding law enforcement and transportation and infrastructure projects.Much of the investment going to cities is allocated through Congress, which raises doubts about Trump’s ability to redirect funds.
When asked about the authority the president trusted to potentially withhold funds, the White House responded.
“We believe that what we do will be lawful within the limits of the law,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said at a news convention on Thursday, without giving details.Then he added, “We’re in the right place.”
The mayors of the four villages attacked through Trump issued a joint Thursday saying the resolution was “illegal, unconstitutional and will no doubt be rejected in court.”
“Our cities, and the millions of Americans we represent, are political pawns of President Trump,” the mayors wrote, adding, “President Trump wants to realize the truth of our cities and our country.total — and realize that it is above the law.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat, called the memorandum a “new minimum, even for this president,” noting that he designated progressive cities with Democratic mayors.
“He continues to say that depriving other people living in this country of their rights to promote their petty grudges is an effective political strategy,” Wheeler tweeted Wednesday. “The rest of us know that it is dangerous, destructive and divisive.”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reacted an anger to the president’s risk of cutting New York funds, suggesting that the president would face violence if he tried to march the streets of New York after his risk.
“You’d better have an army if you think you’re going to walk down the street in New York.New Yorkers need nothing to do with him,” Cuomo said at a press conference in reaction to the president’s order.There may not be enough bodyguards to cross New York, other people need nothing to do with it.”
In response to Cuomo’s comments and his allusion to violence, McEnany sought to oppose the comment by saying that he amounted to Cuomo’s admission of his inability to protect the streets of New York City.
“It’s rare to hear a governor describe with strike that he’s lost from his state, but there’s Governor Cuomo saying you can’t come to New York without an army.Well, I guess that’s the case when you have over 1000 shootings before Labor Day and a 277% increase in shootings in a month compared to last year,” McEnany said on Fox News.It’s very rare for me to hear a Democratic governor admit his failure, and that’s what Governor Cuomo just did for us.
Trump released the memo the same day his Democratic opponent to the presidency, former Vice President Joe Biden, spoke in Delaware about the coronavirus pandemic, accusing the president of misbehaving the crisis. During months of surveys, most Americans said they disapproved of the crisis.wTrump had been poorly seen for months for his handling of the crisis in the latest polls.
Biden criticized Trump this week for his reaction to the shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man who was shot seven in the back through police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last month, and his inability to condemn the violence committed through his own followers.
In recent weeks, Trump has tried to divert attention from the pandemic and become more difficult in law enforcement and criminal problems.Wednesday’s note in line with that.
Sam Berger, who served as senior official of the Obama administration’s Office of Administration and Budget, said the memorandum amounted to “a cross-document.”
“If Trump’s management tries to limit investment on this basis, they will be prosecuted and almost in fact lost in court,” Berger tweeted.
The president’s most recent attempt to cut federal investment for Democratic cities drew parallels with the president’s long-term risk of cutting federal investment in so-called sanctuary cities that have infuriated the president by cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
SoArray, the administration has been unable to act on the president’s orders in sanctuary cities because of ongoing legal battles that have hampered the federal government’s ability to deal with the president’s threat.
Benjamin Siegel of ABC News contributed to the report.
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