President Donald Trump has reportedly ordered the federal government to initiate a review that could result in the defunding of four Democrat-controlled cities that have allowed “lawless” behavior to transpire during protests and that have moved to cut police budgets while violent crime has surged.
“My Administration will not allow Federal tax dollars to fund cities that allow themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones,” Trump says in the memo, according to 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 order targets New York City, Portland, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., all of which have seen violent riots from far-left extremists and widespread looting. 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.
The memo states that New York Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio “allowed violence to spike” while rejecting the president’s offer to send in federal law enforcement officers to restore order.
“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 cancelling the hiring of 1,163 officers.”
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