title:  Trump To Gut Coast Guard, Airport Security, And FEMA To Fund Useless Border Wall
text: Donald Trump s obsession with building a massive expensive wall along the Mexican border is literally going to make America less secure.Despite claiming that he will beat back terrorism and keep Americans safe, Trump is drafting a budget proposal that would cripple three of the nation s most critical agencies that do way more to help Americans than any wall will ever do.The cost of Trump s wall is projected to reach past $20 billion. During the campaign, Trump repeatedly claimed that Mexico would pay for the wall, but it s clear now that American taxpayers will be footing the bill. And rather than create a new budget item, Trump is considering just cutting funding from existing national security and national emergency management agencies to use it to pay for the wall instead.On the chopping block includes the U.S. Coast Guard, a crucial branch of the military that patrols and secures our ports, coast lines, and waterways, defending them from potential terrorist attacks and rescuing people.This particular cut is fiercely opposed by Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter, who explained on CNN Wednesday why the Coast Guard is too important to slash. You have President Trump talking about security, criminal networks   that s what the Coast Guard does, literally!  Hunter said.  So how can the president talk about  stopping illegal immigration, illegal drugs, and criminal narco networks, and then say we re going to cut the military and cut the Coast Guard? The way you stop bad things from happening here is not directly on the border, necessarily. So this is nonsensical to me. But that s not all.According to the Washington Post,The proposal, drawn up by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), also would slash the budget of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which provides disaster relief after hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters. The Coast Guard s $9.1 billion budget in 2017 would be cut 14 percent to about $7.8 billion, while the TSA and FEMA budgets would be reduced about 11 percent each to $4.5 billion and $3.6 billion, respectively.In regards to the Transportation Security Administration, Trump plans to cut post-9/11 programs, which includes a program that trains airline crews how to deal with hijackers, a program that funds the use of special law enforcement teams that sweep transportation hubs for potential threats prior to and during major events like an inauguration, a program that gives local law enforcement more ability to patrol in and around airports, and a program that funds the use of special TSA agents who are trained to specifically detect people exhibiting odd behavior at check-points.In other words, programs that  have been considered a vital piece of airport security and for preventing a repetition of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackings So Trump is literally looking to sacrifice programs designed to prevent another 9/11 in order to build a wall that most experts consider useless in stopping immigration.Donald Trump is once again demonstrating that he cares more about himself than he does about the safety and security of the American people. The Coast Guard protects our coastal boarders from inside and outside threats. The TSA helps prevent another 9/11 attack from occurring on American soil. And FEMA responds to help Americans before, during, and after a disaster strikes. Gutting these agencies doesn t make America safer. It makes us more vulnerable and that appears to be exactly what Trumps wants.If it wasn t clear enough before, it definitely is now. Trump is the greatest threat to our national security.Featured image via Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images