"We will see him in court": Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot pushes back on Trump's threats to cut federal funds
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she's ready to fight President Trump in court if he plans to cut federal funding for her city. She's the latest local official to stand up to the president's threats to cut funds for some of the country's major Democratic-run cities.
"If the president and his team are foolish enough to think they can unilaterally cut off our funding because we are not bending to his will, as if he is an emperor and not a president who is responsible to the people — once again, we will see him in court and we will win," Lightfoot said. "When we win, we will make him pay for what his foolishness has brought to the city of Chicago."
"We will make him pay for what his foolishness has done to the city of Chicago," she added.
Lightfoot also hit Mr. Trump on Twitter for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and said the federal government had ignored her suggestions for ways it could help Chicago.
"If @realDonaldTrump wanted "law and order," he'd start with the White House. 1,000 people die daily from his failure on the pandemic. Instead of taking ownership, he chooses to play politics with lives," she wrote.
In another tweet, Lightfoot posted a letter she sent to Mr. Trump in July, saying his administration could support Chicago through gun safety reform, community-based outreach and faster investigations of federal crimes. "Still waiting for a response over six weeks later..." she wrote.
I sent a letter last month outlining the ways the federal government can actually help our city. Still waiting for a response over six weeks later... https://t.co/9WIxUh8ZFo pic.twitter.com/Z7iJgVCkjz
— Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) September 3, 2020
Lightfoot's comments come after Mr. Trump sent a memo this week calling on federal agencies to find ways to cut funds for four Democratic-run cities: New York, Portland, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
The memo did not mention Chicago, though Mr. Trump has often criticized the city and Lightfoot for Chicago's gun violence. Lightfoot pushed back on Mr. Trump's plan this summer to send more than 100 federal agents to Chicago to respond to the city's violence. "That's what we call tyranny, and dictatorship and we are not having it in Chicago," she said.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also fought back on Mr. Trump's threats this week, telling reporters that the president "would need an army" to walk down the streets of New York City, the president's hometown, if he ever returned.