His new illegal threats to withhold funding
Once again, Donald Trump is threatening to break the law by attempting to withhold funds from states with sanctuary cities. This time he is insisting on his Truth Social account that starting early next month, “THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WILL NO LONGER MAKE PAYMENTS TO THE STATES FOR THEIR CORRUPT CRIMINAL PROTECTION CENTERS, KNOWN AS SANCTUARY CITIES. ALL THEY DO IS MORE CRIME AND VIOLENCE!”
He provided no details; is this a real threat, or another improvised riff that he will forget? Which funds are at risk? What mechanism is there to withhold these payments? Trump hasn’t said it, because he doesn’t really care about the details of the law or the government he ostensibly runs.
This is just another illustration of why Trump’s blatant illegality must have real consequences, even when his efforts are blocked in court. Time and again, federal judges have made clear that the U.S. Treasury and the system of federal grants and disbursements to states and localities are not Trump’s personal bank account that he can choose to close on a whim, based on how he personally feels about the beneficiaries.
He has tried different versions of this approach, in one form or another, several times since his first term, since he first decided to suspend public safety funding more than eight years agoand has been almost uniformly criticized by federal judges who wonder why he is wasting their time. Yet he persists because he has learned that there are few repercussions for pursuing illegal efforts; Worst case scenario, they get shot down, then he moves on and tries again later. Make no mistake, it’s a good thing that the justices stepped in to safeguard the rule of law, but it’s time for Congress to reassert itself and truly constrain an out-of-control president.
What Trump seems to be seeking is simply chaos. Whether he wins or loses in the short term is secondary to his desire to constantly push the envelope and make it seem like our system of laws is on shaky ground or will eventually falter under his constant pressure. The president in general seems unable or unwilling to understand that there are real people on the other side of his policy decisions, real Americans, who, regardless of their support or lack of support for him and his agenda, are all his constituents whom he is charged with helping.
Even when these efforts to cut funding fail, they cause disruptions to crucial services and undermine trust in government. Trump has made it very clear since entering politics (and well before that) that he truly understands everything in terms of winning and losing. You are either a winner or a loser and the only way to be a winner is to force, cheat and lie your way to dominance. In his confused mind, the millions of people in these cities who rely on federal funds for health care, public transportation, education and everything else are just pawns in a larger struggle to consolidate his own authority by any means necessary.
He will fail, as he has repeatedly failed in his efforts, but not before people get hurt. This will continue as long as our institutions allow it. Enough is enough, even if we have to wait until after the midterms for accountability.
