The President spend months fighting with the governor and mayor of San Juan down there….
Had un-nice things to say about things down theatre after hurricane damage….
But it’s about Donald Trump right now, eh?
Money magically WILL be sent to the island….
Probably with a note saying make sure you tell the voters from the island in Florida about this….
The Trump administration on Friday announced $13 billion in additional aid to Puerto Rico to help with rebuilding in the aftermath of 2017’s Hurricane Maria.
Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced tweeted Friday morning that Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Pete Gaynor told her that $13 billion has been approved. She thanked the White House and President Donald Trump.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany touted the $13 billion FEMA award as two of the agency’s “largest grants ever” in a statement. It will include a $11.6 billion federal share of funding for the projects.
In the three years since the storm made landfall, the rebuilding process has been slow and costly. In November 2018, White House officials told congressional leaders and appropriators that the President did not want any additional relief funding sent to the island.
The government’s $13 billion investment will directly address electrical and educational systems, McEnany’s statement said.
“Federal funding of $9.6 billion will allow the Puerto Rico Electrical Power Authority to repair and replace thousands of miles of transmission and distribution lines, electrical substations, power generation systems, office buildings and make other grid improvements. The $2 billion grant for the Puerto Rico Department of Education will focus on restoring school buildings and educational facilities across the island,” McEnany said.
The grants, she added, “exceed the total Public Assistance funding in any single federally-declared disaster other than Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy.”
Trump’s handling of the 2017 storm, which devastated the island and killed nearly 3,000 people in its aftermath, has been widely criticized by locals and experts. Trump has consistently denied any fault for his administration, and has instead sought praise for his handling of Hurricane Maria, at one point calling it “an incredible, unsung success.”
The move is likely an attempt to appeal to Puerto Rican voters who moved to the battleground state of Florida after the hurricane struck the US territory.
Trump was lambasted for his visit to Puerto Rico weeks after the storm, where he was pictured tossing paper towels to a crowd of survivors….