New Republic writer Timothy Noah describes President Donald Trump’s personal brand of federalism as the kind that hits in all the right places to endanger Americans, making America a "perverse death trap"
Noah writes Republicans have adopted “federalism” to mean killing off federal revenue sharing of state construction and maintenance programs, including an 80 percent drop in Community Development Block grants for building roads and infrastructure since the 1970s. But Trump has amended that division of state and federal responsibility to something considerably more inconsistent, particularly “regarding immigration protests in Los Angeles and the start of hurricane season along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.”
“The only unifying principle I see is ‘Do whatever maximizes the likelihood of physical harm.’” Noah argues.
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When public demonstrations began against ICE raids on a California Home Depot outlet and clothing store, who showed up to rile formerly peaceful protests but Trump’s and his 2,000 National Guard troops--over the protests of California Gov. Gavin Newsom?
“Newsom ... predicted that it would ‘only escalate tensions,’ which it did. By Sunday night there were full-on riots. On Monday, Trump sent in the Marines,” Noah reports.
But if “MAGA federalism dictates” federal intervention is warranted against protests, “it further dictates that federal intervention is not warranted against hurricanes,” Noah said.
Consider Trump initially refused a request for disaster aid from his own former press spokesperson, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, after her state was smacked by deadly tornadoes. And while visiting North Carolina in January to measure the state’s recovery from Hurricane Helaine, Trump was still talking about “maybe getting rid of FEMA.” When former FEMA administrator Cameron Hamilton dared to contradict Trump by advising against eliminating, Trump fired him.
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“FEMA’s still there, but just barely; it’s still reeling from hundreds of staff cuts in February by the White House Office of Personnel Management,” said Noah. “Eleven requests to declare this or that state a disaster area have yet to be answered, including two from April; in late May the backlog was 17 requests.”
Most of the pending requests, Noah points out, are from red states hammered by severe storms and flooding. And now The Washington Postreports FEMA staffers will no longer go door to door after disasters searching for victims in need of aid. That job now falls to state governments, which have significantly fewer resources.
Noah says consider also Trump’s “Big Beautiful” budget bill, which reduces Medicaid eligibility for many Americans and repeals Biden-era regulation simplifying the eligibility and renewal process. It also requires states to contribute $72 billion more to pay for coverage. Additionally, there’s the budget bill’s $300 billion cuts to the nation’s food stamp (EBT) program and language raising the maximum age of the program’s work requirement 10 years to 64, plus the president’s plan to cut $1.3 billion from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
The administration’s hesitation to intervene on behalf of American health appears to contrast Trump’s eagerness to insert himself to inflame protest and violence, Noah adds. Because MAGA federalism only favors federal intervention that impairs safety and health.
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“Trump’s only partisan loyalty in this area is to the Grim Reaper. Poor nutrition is good. Ineligibility for hospital care is better. Injury or death are best of all,” Noah writes.
Read the full TNR report at this link.