New York Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday said President Trump is “not doing anything” to help the city get back on its feet financially amid the coronavirus pandemic.
He said his city will spend roughly $3.5 billion on unanticipated health efforts this year.
“[The] federal government is not saying, we’re going to make you whole for that extraordinary effort,” Mr. de Blasio said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “My budget, I just announced, we’ve lost over $7 billion in revenue. Right now, Donald Trump is not doing anything to help my city back on its feet.”
“How am I going to pay for basic services? How am I going to pay for first responders? How am I going to have a restart of my economy if my city is going broke?” the mayor said.
Mr. de Blasio said it will likely be weeks or months until the city has the tools to start getting back to normal.
The federal government has shipped a number of critical supplies like protective masks and ventilators to New York.
Mr. Trump has also helped facilitate the creation of makeshift hospitals in the city that have yet to be filled as the most dire projections of need amid the outbreak have not yet come to pass.
But Congress is still debating another coronavirus rescue package, and Mr. de Blasio and other state and local leaders are pushing for more direct financial assistance to offset the economic toll the virus is taking on them.
The administration and lawmakers on Capitol Hill are closing in on a deal to replenish a depleted small business loan program with about $300 billion, in a package that could also include additional money for hospitals and coronavirus testing.
Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said on CNN Sunday that Mr. Trump is prepared to talk about money for states and localities after they finish up negotiations on the other package.
Mr. Trump has said that Democrats and other critics will never be satisfied, no matter what he manages to accomplish in the battle against COVID-19.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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