Sen. Robert Menendez took to Twitter Friday to slam the White House’s response to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria devastated the island.
“Maria devastates Puerto Rico & WH doesn’t acknowledge crisis for 5 whole days, ….” Mr. Menendez tweeted, adding, “2 - WH doesn’t declare state of emergency for the entire island, for some unknown reason.”
In his series of tweets, the New Jersey Democrat also chastised the administration for blocking members of Congress from visiting the island and acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke for her comments calling Puerto Rico a “good news story.”
Mr. Menendez is currently in the midst of his own scandal, standing trial on corruption charges for accepting gifts in exchange for political favors. The break in the trial this week allowed him to travel to Puerto Rico this week to asses the damage.
“Now in San Juan, #PuertoRico, and the devastation is already overwhelming. Angel, who works in my DC office and has family in PR, is with me and will post updates on this account when possible as we learn about how Congress can help suffering Puerto Ricans,” he tweeted on Friday.
Mr. Menendez met with Puerto Rico’s Gov. Ricardo Rossello when he touched down to see what aid Congress could provide.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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