Schumer Statement on President Trump’s Potential Cuts to the Coast Guard and Airport Security to Pay For Border Wall

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today released the statement below in response to President Trump’s draft plan that includes major cuts to the Coast Guard and airport security to pay for the border wall following Washington Post’s publication outlining the draft plan:

“When it comes to keeping us safe, President Trump should not pay for the wall by cutting security at our nation’s airports, train stations and ports. President Trump’s incompetence would be laughable, except it’s dangerous. Every expert says the wall will do nothing to make us more secure, but the potential cuts at our nation’s ports would be dangerous.

“In the wake of the 2016 terrorist attack at the Brussels airport, Senate Democrats led by Sen. Martin Heinrich, pushed for and passed new legislation that was lauded by both parties to make our country safer. Unfortunately, the Trump administration’s potential plan would make our country less safe and more susceptible to terror attacks, period. And given the vital installations they guard and how many drugs and contraband they intercept along our maritime borders, cutting the Coast Guard to pay for a vacuous and expensive vanity project like a border wall would be dangerous and irrational. “