On Thursday’s “CNN News Central,” Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) said that he isn’t surprised by the attack on a synagogue in Michigan and “It’s never good to have security apparati across the federal government shut down” but “this administration owes the American public a better set of priorities for public safety.”
Auchincloss said, “Regrettably, this doesn’t surprise me, and I don’t think it surprises my constituents. We have seen the surge of antisemitism, globally and nationally, and we know that there are lone wolves or even state-sponsored actors who are trying to wreak havoc.”
Co-host Boris Sanchez asked, “To that point, over the last few weeks, we’ve seen shootings at three synagogues in Toronto. There was a mass shooting in Austin, which officials have been investigating whether it may have been inspired by the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. Also, we had two terror suspects that are accused of tossing makeshift bombs at a protest in New York City, attributing that act to ISIS — being inspired by ISIS. I wonder what your assessment is of how capable the federal government is right now of responding to [this] level of threats.”
Auchincloss responded, “I represent a district that’s going to be hosting FIFA and the World Cup in less than 100 days, and this is a tier one event that absolutely could be a target. And so, there needs to be extremely tight and capable federal, state, and local collaboration on security, and I intend to help foment that.”
Later, Sanchez asked, “I also wonder, Congressman, if you think that the shutdown, the funding shutdown of DHS allows the administration to adequately monitor threats and to respond to them.”
Auchincloss answered, “It’s never good to have security apparati across the federal government shut down. I also think it’s a mistake that Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are spending more money on the detention of immigrants who have committed no crimes than they are spending on the combination of crime, drugs, guns, corruption, and counterterrorism combined. That is a misallocation of resources towards priorities. I think Americans want the federal government wired in on counterterrorism and corruption and opioid and fentanyl trafficking and drug trafficking and gun trafficking and not creating these massive detention facilities with these sophomoric names that the administration has been gleeful about. So, this administration owes the American public a better set of priorities for public safety.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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