Rep. Huffman Blasts Sec. Burgum, AG Bondi Alcatraz Visit Amid Trump Plan to Reopen Island Prison

Rep. Huffman Blasts Sec. Burgum, AG Bondi Alcatraz Visit Amid Trump Plan to Reopen Island Prison

Washington, D.C. - Today, Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA) issued the following statement regarding Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Attorney General Pam Bondi's visit to Alcatraz Island as part of the Trump administration's bizarre and troubling proposal to reopen the former federal penitentiary - now a treasured national park and historic site - as an active prison for detained immigrants:

"Today I almost felt sorry for Secretary Doug Burgum. He's a smart guy, a serious guy, and he knows reopening Alcatraz is batshit crazy. But he has to pretend otherwise to stay in Trump's good graces, so everyone pretends to love the Emperor's beautiful new clothes while giggling behind his back," Huffman said.

"As for the merits of this proposal, if you thought "Alligator Alcatraz" was dumb, cruel, and wasteful, you'll run out of adjectives for this idiotic political stunt," Huffman continued. "I told Secretary Burgum last month that not a single serious person at the National Park Service - from superintendents to janitors - thinks this is a good idea. It would also be a financial boondoggle - not just the massive amount it would cost to reopen Alcatraz as a prison, but all the money and goodwill the Park Service would lose from closing one of America's most popular tourist destinations."

"The bottom line: this is deeply idiotic, transparently political, and ultimately unlikely to happen. The only possible rational explanation for why Pam Bondi was touring Alcatraz today is that she thinks it might be a good place to hide the Epstein files," Huffman concluded.

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