Donald Trump has labeled 3 US cities as ‘Anarchist Jurisdiction’ cities and is preparing to use the presidency to take out his revenge against the Democratically-controlled municipalities.
Politics
On Monday, the William Barr-led US Justice Department deemed Portland, Seattle, and New York City as anarchist jurisdiction cities at the direction of Donald Trump. The punishment for such classification is to limit or cease federal funding to these cities for allegedly allowing violence and/or vandalism to occur during protests.
“We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance,” Attorney General William Barr said in a statement. “It is my hope that the cities identified by the Department of Justice today will reverse course and become serious about performing the basic function of government and start protecting their own citizens.”
Donald Trump is still reeling from the months-long series of protests across the country following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. He also still holds a grudge for how he was vilified following his tear-gassed photo-op outside The White House and his mishandling of the ongoing protests in Portland. So, in keeping with his self-imposed “Law and Order” theme prior to the November election, ‘The Donald’ is using pettiness to exact revenge against those Democratic cities he believes have contributed to making him look bad.
In light of his bruised ego, Trump directed Attorney General William Barr, Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, and acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf to designate Portland, Seattle, and New York as anarchist jurisdiction cities, claiming they ” have permitted violence and the destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract these criminal activities.”
Trump has also threatened to name additional (Democratic) cities to his hit list (as soon as he can decide who else he wants to get back at for his make-believe wrongdoings).
His rationale for the anarchist jurisdiction labels include claims that city councils voted to cut police funding, refused to prosecute protesters on charges like disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly, rejected federal intervention, and allowed injuries suffered by law enforcement officials during violent outbursts.
On Tuesday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan collectively issued a statement calling Trump’s move “thoroughly political and unconstitutional,” adding that “the president is playing cheap political games with congressionally directed funds.”
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“Our cities are bringing communities together; our cities are pushing forward after fighting back a pandemic and facing the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, all despite recklessness and partisanship from the White House,” the joint statement said. “What the Trump administration is engaging in now is more of what we’ve seen all along: shirking responsibility and placing blame elsewhere to cover its failure.”
“With more than 185,000 lives lost on his watch, we won’t forget. The president cannot and will not defund us. He is not a dictator and laws still apply to him.” – Gov. Jay Inslee, Washington
New York Attorney General Letitia James issued her own statement, saying Trump is “using the last few months of his presidency to sow more chaos, more hatred, and more fear.” She added that his scheme would not be successful and vowed to defeat Trump and Barr in court over any such withholding of funding to the city and the state.
“This designation is nothing more than a pathetic attempt to scare Americans into voting for a commander-in-chief who is actually incapable of commanding our nation,” James said, adding that the administration “should be prepared to defend this illegal order in court, which hypocritically lays the groundwork to defund New York and the very types of law enforcement President Trump pretends to care about.”
Donald Trump does not have the legal authority to withhold congressionally-approved funds from cities. However, since when has Dictator Donald ever allowed something as trivial as rules to stand in the way of his self-centered wants and desires?
He really does think he is some type of king or something. I want congress to stay on him until he gets put out in November. Then we need to change the laws so something like Trump can never happen again.