Trump Hits California with Christmas Day Ultimatum: Fix Homelessness Problem or Federal Government Will 'Get Involved'
Just a week after California Gov. Gavin Newsom spit blame toward the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Trump administration for the lack of action on his own state’s homelessness problem, President Donald Trump threatened federal intervention if Newsom doesn’t “fix the problem.”
The high rate of homelessness in California is startling.
In 2018 alone, 33 in every 10,000 people in the Golden State experienced homelessness, according to a report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
To put that into perspective, HUD reported that Texas — the next most populous state in the country — had 9 in every 10,000 people experiencing homelessness.
Newsom, a Democrat, has frequently criticized Trump, claimed California is the “progressive answer to a transgressive President” and celebrated Trump’s recent impeachment.
Last week, after the sixth Democratic presidential primary debate, Newsom blamed HUD and the Trump administration for the rise in homelessness in his own state.
“They’re not serious about this issue,” he said.
“They’re playing politics with it. … Expect nothing but division coming and emanating from the folks at HUD and the Trump administration.”
Newsom said that if the administration were to take action, he would celebrate it.
In spin room at #DemDebate, @GavinNewsom slams Trump Administration and HUD for doing “nothing” on “housing first,” the priority to solve homelessness. pic.twitter.com/AQXRHUwZys
— Carla Marinucci (@cmarinucci) December 20, 2019
Fox Nation host Tomi Lahren shared the tweeted video and implored Newsom to take responsibility for his own state.
“Take accountability, Gavin. This is your state and you and your democratic cohorts created this mess,” she wrote on Twitter. “You can’t blame @realDonaldTrump forever. Step away from the hair gel and get to work!!!”
On Christmas, the president responded to Lahren and Newsom’s remarks.
“Governor Gavin N has done a really bad job on taking care of the homeless population in California,” Trump tweeted. “If he can’t fix the problem, the Federal Govt. will get involved!”
Governor Gavin N has done a really bad job on taking care of the homeless population in California. If he can’t fix the problem, the Federal Govt. will get involved! https://t.co/2z8zM37PUA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 25, 2019
HUD Secretary Ben Carson said Friday that state and local officials aren’t doing enough to combat the problem.
“In fact, homelessness in California is at a crisis level and needs to be addressed by local and state leaders with crisis-like urgency,” he said in a statement Friday. “Addressing these challenges will require a broader, community-wide response that engages every level of government to compassionately house our fellow citizens who call the streets their home.”
The editors of the San Francisco Chronicle agreed with him in an editorial Tuesday, saying, “Carson is right: The state’s response to homelessness isn’t equal to the human disaster at hand.”
“The nation’s homelessness problem has to a disturbing degree become California’s homelessness problem,” they wrote. “While the latest counts compiled by the federal government show that America’s homeless population is growing again after more than a decade of declines, the entire national increase and more can be attributed to California alone.”
Earlier this month, Newsom launched a “100-day challenge initiative” in which he invited cities and counties to apply for “hundreds of millions of dollars in Emergency Homelessness Aid provided through the 2019-2020 state budget.”
He also wrote a letter to Trump asking for additional federal aid.
“With a single stroke of your pen, you can make a major, positive impact on homelessness right away,” Newsom wrote.
“You can immediately order your Department of Housing and Urban Development to house 50,000 homeless Californians with federal housing vouchers — this, combined with critically important increases in fair market rents, can stably house a significant portion of our street homeless population faster than almost any other action you could possibly take.”
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