US President Donald Trump has signed a five-page memo calling federal agencies to submit a report detailing all federal funds provided to the cities of Seattle, New York, Portland and Washington DC, within 14 days.
The White House on September 2 ordered federal agencies to review potential funding cuts to cities having what United States President Donald Trump terms as “lawless” protests.
The US president signed a five-page memo calling federal agency chiefs to submit a report to the Office of Management and Budget detailing all federal funds provided to the cities of Seattle, New York, Portland and Washington DC, within 14 days.
“My Administration will do everything in its power to prevent weak mayors and lawless cities from taking Federal dollars while they let anarchists harm people, burn buildings, and ruin lives and businesses. We’re putting them on notice today,” Trump said in a tweet.
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This comes as Trump continues to push for “law and order” as part of his re-election campaign. Trump was criticised over his handling of nationwide demonstrations sparked by George Floyd’s death in police custody in Minneapolis in May. However, demonstrations reignited in some cities after the police shooting of Jacob Blake last week.
Jacob Blake Sr, the father of those whose shooting on August 20 sparked the unrest, called on protesters to refrain from looting and vandalism, which had overshadowed peaceful protests before a tense calm set in the past three nights.
The shooting of Blake, a 29-year-old black man, by a white police officer in front of three of his children, turned Kenosha -- the mostly white city of 1 lakh people south of Milwaukee -- into the latest flashpoint.