Joe and Mika were shocked, I tell you, shocked! about Trump's announcement that he was basically stealing appropriations for military projects (and Puerto Rico) to build his border wall -- especially those of Republican senators who are running for reelection.
Trump is taking money meant for the construction of military base elementary schools and daycare centers, military housing, hazardous waste warehouse facilities, and fire stations. And I have to tell you, the crappy condition of military housing has been a scandal for decades.
The political play here is, Trump is assuming Democrats will simply backfill the funding anyway in the next budget.
But Democratic lawmakers vowed again this week not to backfill funds for the affected military projects — arguing that Congress already approved the money once and would not do so again.
“The president is ignoring his lack of authority when it comes to stealing congressionally directed funding,” Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) said in an interview Wednesday. “The notion that the president is suggesting that, ‘Well, don’t worry, the projects will be backfilled,’ just shows the lack of understanding from this president of how the appropriations process works.”
It was amusing, watching Scarborough blow his stack over the Republican senators facing re-election next year who voted in support of Trump's emergency declaration and now their states will lose money to build the wall.
"So the state of North Carolina, their military bases are going to be gutted, for military construction projects that will not only bring jobs and keep jobs and Donald Trump is gutting $80 million from Thom Tillis. Martha McSally in Arizona couldn't stop Donald Trump from gutting $20 million from Arizona military bases.
"Oh, this is rich," Mika said.
Scarborough continued, "Moscow Mitch, the $62 million. We don't know how much rubles that is, but it's the equivalent of $62 million. Corey Gardner, $8 million stolen from his military projects. Lindsey Graham, $11 million stolen from South Carolina and John Cornyn, $38 million stolen from the state of Texas. That 2020 election should be a safe race, but might be another -- they're calling it Texodus because Texas Republicans keep quitting Congress rather than running for re-election. Donald Trump stole -- I can't believe he stole $80 million from the people in North Carolina and Thom Tillis could couldn't do anything about it."
"Let's focus on Thom Tillis and North Carolina and the nuts and bolts of what happens with money," Mike Barnicle said.
"You've got people coming back from four, five, six tours in Afghanistan and/or Iraq. Part of that money ostensibly, I would have to imagine, is going to be used for improvement in necessary military housing. So that is gone. I would like to be running against Thom Tillis in North Carolina, either in Republican primary or against him in the fall. And please explain to me, Senator Tillis, why you allowed $80 million to be diverted from people who really serve our country."
"This is not tough. If you're running against Thom Tillis or in the alternative, if you care about our military men and women that serve overseas, that serve here, to steal $80 million for a wall that he said Mexico was going to pay for, that Republicans wouldn't even fund -- they had control of the House and the Senate for two years and John Cornyn said it wasn't worth it. Lindsey Graham said it wasn't worth it," Scarborough said.
Scarborough started yelling. "He just stole $80 million from your state! How weak are you? Unbelievable."
