In an effort to enact its voter suppression agenda ahead of this year’s midterm elections, the Trump administration is threatening to undercut several states’ efforts to fight terrorism.
Citing agency documents, The New York Times reported Tuesday on how the Federal Emergency Management Agency has threatened to withhold some counterterrorism funding from states unless they agree to impose the voting restrictions that Trump and his allies want before the November elections.
This is one of several desperate gambits launched on behalf of someone who seems hell-bent on running a regime as though he’s a mafia boss. With polling showing broad disapproval toward the president and Trump expressing concerns of being impeached if Republicans lose control of the House this fall, this Times report underscores his willingness to put Americans’ safety at risk in order to win elections.
The Trump administration is requiring states to change the way they conduct elections or risk losing tens of millions of federal terrorism-prevention funds, in its latest move that would make voting harder and undermine trust in results that don’t go President Trump’s way.
The effort would force states to transition to paper ballots, verify citizenship of voters and make other changes to election procedures, according to Federal Emergency Management Agency documents.
The report noted that the grants “go largely to populous states with large urban areas, including New York, California and Texas,” and that New York “is set to receive about $204 million in fiscal year 2026, according to the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul.” In a statement, Hochul rebuked the new FEMA requirements for “once again putting New Yorkers’ lives at risk to forward their political agenda.”
“I will fight to ensure our state has every resource available to keep us secure,” Hochul said.
The FEMA changes are likely to be the subject of fierce litigation — for the obvious reason that the federal government has no business meddling in states’ elections like this.
This isn’t the first time the Trump administration has tried to withhold congressionally authorized homeland security funding in an effort to coerce states. In December, a Trump-appointed federal judge blocked its efforts to withhold money unless states complied with Trump’s racist anti-immigrant crackdown, writing:
Defendants’ wanton abuse of their role in federal grant administration is particularly troublesome given the fact that they have been entrusted with a most solemn duty: safeguarding our Nation and its citizens. While the intricacies of administrative law and the terms and conditions on federal grants may seem abstract to some, the funding at issue here supports vital counterterrorism and law enforcement programs.
The risk of such a gambit is no secret.
The Trump regime has imposed staffing cuts at the Justice Department that have already heightened concerns about the country’s vulnerability to terrorist attacks. A sane administration would want to fix these vulnerabilities. Trump and his allies seem to want to create more of them, all for political gain.
On that note, check out this piece I recently wrote about close Trump ally Laura Loomer claiming the United States may “need another 9/11” if it serves her ultimate goal of keeping Muslims out of politics.
Ask yourself: Is this a movement Americans should trust to keep them safe?
The post Trump administration dangles counterterrorism funding in exchange for voter suppression appeared first on MS NOW.
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