⁍ ‘We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance,’ Attorney General William Barr said in a statement.

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⁍ In a joint statement, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan accused the Trump administration of playing politics.

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⁍ ‘This is thoroughly political and unconstitutional. The president is playing cheap political games with congressionally directed funds,’ they said.

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– The Justice Department is threatening to strip New York City, Seattle, and Portland, Ore., of federal funding because they’re allowing “anarchy and violence” on their streets. “We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance,” Attorney General William Barr said in a statement Monday, per Reuters. The feds say the cities have refused to allow federal law enforcement to restore order, among other things. “The designation of ‘anarchy’ doesn’t even pass the common sense test. If need be we can send, in addition to our legal filings, a dictionary. Because what we have in New York is not anarchy,” said New York City Corporation Counsel Jim Johnson during a press briefing Monday, per the New York Times. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio issued a joint statement denouncing the move as politically motivated. “This is thoroughly political and unconstitutional,” they said. “The president is playing cheap political games with congressionally directed funds. Our cities are bringing communities together; our cities are pushing forward after fighting back a pandemic and facing the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, all despite partisanship and partisanship from the White House.” (The Justice Department has asked federal prosecutors to consider sedition charges against protesters.)