Greets and saluts from the NYC metro area. Trump’s jetting off to interfere in the disaster response even as the rains are still falling on flood swollen Houston and SE Texas. Authorities are overburdened and overtaxed with need to rescue people from their homes and to set up shelter that may be required for months, and Trump thinks he’s got to show up now?

That diverts resources better spent on aid to victims, but Trump thinks that this is all about him. He knows the media well enough to know that he could get a pivot from the media away from the ongoing Russia scandal and his failing admin, and the media comes through:

Again with the nonsensical waiting for a pivot that never occurs. Trump doesn’t pivot. He bullies, lies, & projects failings on to others

— lawhawk (@lawhawk) August 29, 2017

Do you even read your own reporting about Trump’s temperament? Trump craves loyalty and doesn’t care about competence.

— lawhawk (@lawhawk) August 29, 2017

Lest you think that the GOP might focus on disaster relief and make sure that funding is promptly addressed, you’d be wrong.

They’re going to demand offsets and gut safety net funding to pay for disaster relief. Or push for cuts to health care to fund it.

— lawhawk (@lawhawk) August 29, 2017

The GOP is craven enough to consider the need for tax cuts and offsets rather than funding disaster recovery and prevention. They don’t care about anything else. So, while Trump’s busy breaking the government, the GOP is making sure that people can’t get the aid they need in a timely fashion.

The IRS has already indicated their disaster aid relief (which allows taxpayers additional time and relief from penalties due to the storm). Some FEMA funds are available, but that’ll be tapped out soon enough. The GOP still has to craft the budget that goes into effect October 1, and they have a debt ceiling discussion that still needs to be done. The GOP’s fixated on tax cuts and gutting health coverage and can’t be bothered with the business of doing their goddamned jobs. Then they’ll rush through a plan that doesn’t meet CBO scoring or screws all but the rich by shifting the burdens to those least able to afford them.

That means that the GOP is actively moving to fuck over many of those Texans who just got flooded out from Harvey.

Cruz is busy demanding that aid come quickly, which is hypocritical considering he was among those loudly calling to hold up funds for Sandy relief. The entire GOP delegation from Texas voted against Sandy funding. We don’t forget. Those craven fuckers didn’t think that they’d suffer from natural disasters? They get hurricanes and flooding far more regularly than we do in the NYC metro area. Since 1953, Texas has had 254 disaster declarations. NY had 93. NJ had 53.

But when you hit the largest city in the country with a massive storm with major flooding, it’s going to cost. Now, Houston, the 6th largest city in the nation is getting flooded out. I remember when Cruz and other GOPers from Texas were bitching about the cost to repair the NYC subways. Yup, that’s expensive. The NYC subways move more people per day than live in Houston.

I’m not going to deny aid to Texas; they need it.

Texas needs better and more empathetic leaders. The GOP lacks all empathy. All they care about is their own self interest and pursuit of power. Once they have it, they show they’re incapable of wielding it for the greater good.