“Trump and his cronies are focused on fulfilling a campaign promise in time for the 2020 election to benefit himself, his donors and Senators like John Cornyn who are running for election on the President’s coattails.” – Mario Carrillo
The Washington Post reports that the Trump administration has awarded the largest-yet contract for building the border wall — a $1.3 billion award to Fisher Sand & Gravel, owned by GOP donor Tommy Fisher, who is known for going on Fox News to praise the President and whose firm is under investigation. Meanwhile, in Texas, where land is being seized and construction escalated, Senator John Cornyn, the President’s Cheerleader-in-Chief is ignoring Texas voters and backing up Trump’s massive diversion of funds away from the COVID-19 response.
As Nick Miroff writes in the Post:
The new award to Fisher carries an average cost of more than $30 million per mile of border barrier, more expensive than other contracts for Trump’s wall. The project has morphed from a 2016 campaign promise into one of the largest federal infrastructure projects in U.S. history … Swelling the price tag further was a design change from the president requiring the barrier to be painted black, adding about $1.2 million per mile….
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, blasted the contract in a statement to The Post, noting that the Pentagon inspector general’s audit is not yet complete and that the country is in the grips of a pandemic and economic crisis.
“It speaks volumes to the administration’s lack of transparency that they didn’t announce this award — the largest ever — and we continue to learn about contracts to companies without a proven track record from the media,” Thompson said. “Given the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing investigation into Fisher, the administration should pause construction and contracting decisions until the investigation has concluded favorably and it is safe to resume nonessential construction projects.”
The following is a statement from Mario Carrillo, the Texas-based Campaigns Manager for America’s Voice:
Senator John Cornyn is a rubber stamp for everything Trump is doing wrong. At a time when Texans expect our elected officials to do everything they can to save lives and open the economy safely, the President’s vanity project along the border continues to be a top Republican priority. Taking $1.3 billion from testing, treatment, tracking and helping Texans cope with the quarantine and economic collapse adds insult to injury – and death – as John Cornyn’s priority is on helping well-connected political allies and giving the President his wall.
Since the coronavirus crisis began, Republicans have escalated the seizure of Texas land from private property owners and are spending wildly on construction of the useless wall. They hope we will be distracted by the national crisis and will not see what they are doing in Texas and along other parts of the border.
When testing and treatment in Texas and across the country is insufficient to safely reopen the economy, and when first responders, healthcare workers and essential workers are risking their lives to save ours, Trump and his cronies are focused on fulfilling a campaign promise in time for the 2020 election to benefit himself, his donors and Senators like John Cornyn who are running for election on the President’s coattails. Texans deserve leaders who truly represent us.
As Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice said in a statement yesterday:
The border wall is emblematic of Trump and his failed presidency: divisive, distracting, narcissistic, mendacious, corrupt, racist, authoritarian, and ineffective. Trump is America’s Nero.
