During his recent visit to disaster areas in California and North Carolina, and during subsequent interviews, President Donald Trump has threatened to withhold federal disaster aid unless California and other states make policy changes that could effect voting, water management, and more.
This is immoral and disgusting. Whether aiding Alaska, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, or Wyoming – all states that have had federal disasters declared in the last six months – or any other state, the principles behind the Federal Emergency Management Administration are the same. We aid Americans in their time of need, regardless of their political leanings.
Equally important, if Trump is going to break this norm then Congress should expect it to be broken under a future Democratic administration. Imagine:
– conditioning aid to Louisiana after a hurricane unless the state phases out the fossil fuel industry which is making storms more frequent and intense.
– conditioning aid to Florida on state expanded voting rights or access to abortion.
– Conditioning aid to Texas on the state accepting Medicaid expansion from the federal government too.
If a Democratic president proposed attaching conditions to federal disaster money it would be denounced by a majority of this Congress in a matter of moments. What Donald Trump is proposing is no different. It’s wrong. It’s immoral. And it’s un-American.
I call on every member of this Congress to immediately denounce conditions on disaster aid to California or anywhere else.
