As Hurricane Dorian looms, Florida Democrats say Trump is ‘out of his mind’ for diverting disaster funds to the border

As Hurricane Dorian strengthened, Florida Democrats blasted President Donald Trump Wednesday for transferring disaster-relief funding to border enforcement efforts.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, the state’s top statewide elected Democrat, said in a statement the “president must be out of his mind” for siphoning away disaster funds as a major hurricane threatens Florida.

“We don’t need those funds diverted to fuel a xenophobic agenda,” she said. "I sincerely hope that Governor (Ron) DeSantis will talk some sense into our commander in chief.”

Florida Congressional Democrats who have oversight over the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s budget also heaped criticism on Trump.

The Trump administration is moving $155 million from FEMA’s disaster-relief fund to pay for border enforcement efforts, according to a July notification to Congress.

The disaster relief fund balance is expected to meet operational needs, “absent significant new catastrophic events,” according to the notice by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The agency cited an influx of migrants at the border and a near-80,000 case backlog in the immigration courts as the reason for the transfer.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, called the transfer “a reckless disrespect for Congress’s power of the purse.”

“This Administration is so barbaric and uncaring as to raid FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund to augment its own dangerous ‘remain-in-Mexico’ asylum policies, while a severe storm bears down on Americans who have recently been ravaged by hurricanes,” Wasserman Schultz said in a statement.

Skyler Swisher can be reached at sswisher@sunsentinel.com, 561-243-6634 or @SkylerSwisher.

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