DeLauro Statement on the $1.8 Billion Taxpayer-Funded Handout to Trump’s Political Allies, Flooding the Swamp

WASHINGTON -Today, US Representative Rosa DeLauro issued the following statement regarding the Trump Administration's announcement of a nearly $1.8 billion fund-funded by U.S. taxpayers-for his allies and supporters who claim to have been targeted by the Justice Department under President Biden:

"Donald Trump is the most corrupt President in American history. He has accepted a $400 million luxury airliner from a foreign government, extorted over $90 million from tech and media companies, and pocketed over $850 million in cryptocurrency bribes. He is establishing an additional $1.8 billion fund, funded by U.S. taxpayers, exclusively for his friends, allies, and January 6^th violent insurrectionists to enrich themselves. And he has now attempted to bar the IRS from ever investigating himself, his family members, or his businesses-a lifetime get out of jail free card, awarded to himself, by himself. That is astounding. President Trump has demolished every norm and ethical standard to which elected officials ought to be held, and now he seeks to enrich his cronies even further based on spurious claims of political persecution, while his own Administration has actively withheld $250 million in disaster aid from Democratic states, and gutted our nation's scientific research capabilities based on purely political grievances. The hypocrisy is staggering, and Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee are doing nothing to stop it, voting against amendments offered by Congressman Pocan and Congresswoman Torres during past funding bill markups to prevent this corruption.

"While the American people struggle with the cost of living, facing gas nearly $5 a gallon and skyrocketing health insurance premiums, President Trump and his allies are enriching themselves. As the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, I will not allow a single cent for this flagrant corruption. I expect Attorney General Todd Blanche , who has yet to appear before the Appropriations Committee to justify his Department's budget request, to have put an end to this travesty by the time he testifies, or his legacy will be the final and utter subordination of the Department of Justice to the President's insatiable greed, funded by robbing American taxpayers."