Trump Orders Feds to Defund 'Lawless' Cities That Cut Police Budgets
Federal government begins process to cut funding to four Democrat-run cities
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President Donald Trump has ordered the federal government to begin the process to defund four "lawless" cities that have cut their police budgets.
The president initiated a review to cut federal funding to four Democrat-controlled cities that have allowed violent rioting to transpire during protests.
The move targets New York City, Portland, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., after each city moved to cut police budgets while violent crime is surging.
“My Administration will not allow Federal tax dollars to fund cities that allow themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones,” President Trump says, according to a memo reportedly obtained by the New York Post.
“To ensure that Federal funds are neither unduly wasted nor spent in a manner that directly violates our Government’s promise to protect life, liberty, and property, it is imperative that the Federal Government review the use of Federal funds by jurisdictions that permit anarchy, violence, and destruction in America’s cities,” the president adds.
All four of the targetted cities have seen violent riots from far-left extremists and suffered widespread looting.
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The memo also instructs Attorney General William Barr to compile a list of “anarchist jurisdictions” that have “permitted violence and the destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures” to restore order, according to The Daily Wire.
The memo states that New York Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio “allowed violence to spike.”
They did so while rejecting the president’s offer to send in federal law enforcement officers to restore order, the memo notes.
“While violence has surged, arrests have plummeted,” the memo reportedly states.
"In a 28-day period during the months of June and July, [New York City] arrests were down 62 percent from the same period in 2019.
"Amidst the rising violence, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Council agreed to cut one billion dollars from the New York Police Department (NYPD) budget, including by canceling the hiring of 1,163 officers.”
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The memo states that District of Columbia Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser “allowed rioters and anarchists to engage in violence and destruction in late May and early June, requiring me to call in the National Guard to maintain law and order in the Nation’s Capital.”
The New York Post’s report notes that New York City receives nearly $7 billion per year in federal aid.
This figure could be slashed as a result of the Trump administration’s new action.
The city on the list that receives the smallest amount of federal funding per year is Portland at approximately $252 million.
