Inslee: Trump Defunding Threat 'Baseless, Petty and Divisive'

SEATTLE — On Wednesday, President Trump issued a memorandum threatening to review, and defund, states and cities which have seen massive protests in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd and the national reckoning over police violence and racism in America.

Trump's memorandum claims states and cities "contributed to the violence and destruction in their jurisdictions" and specifically calls out the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest which controlled several city blocks of Seattle for three weeks in June.

The memorandum ends by threatening to withhold federal funding from "State and local jurisdictions that have permitted violence and the destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract these criminal activities".

Thursday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee issued a response to that memorandum, saying in essence: we'll see you in court.

"While we’re calling our lawyers, he should call his public health experts. This will not stand," said Inslee in a statement.

In his statement, Inslee affirms that Trump "is not a dictator" and that he cannot and will not defund Washington state.

“This illegal memorandum is a sham. It is just the latest baseless, petty and divisive move by President Trump to distract from his abject failure to protect Americans from COVID-19. With more than 185,000 lives lost on his watch, we won’t forget," Inslee said.

A similar sentiment was shared by Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan on Twitter Wednesday, who also called the President's memorandum an attempt to distract from his failure handling the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump's memorandum cites several other cities and states that have seen large protests, including New York state and Portland, Oregon. Leaders from those jurisdictions have also issued similar responses, calling the memorandum illegal, and an attempt to silence political opponents.

Read Gov. Inslee's full response.

The full text of the White House memorandum.