Today, at the first full committee hearing of the 115th Congress to examine the future of housing in America under U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, questioned Secretary Carson about the devastation in Puerto Rico and President Trump’s threatening and denigrating tweets on the matter.

In the exchange, Ranking Member Waters highlighted President Trump’s tweets, in which he threatened to abandon recovery efforts in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, following the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria. In his opening statement, Secretary Carson assured Committee members that HUD is working diligently to provide relief to the victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.

Based on Secretary Carson’s verbal commitment to the people of Puerto Rico and to providing disaster relief, Ranking Member Waters asked whether or not Secretary Carson believed that President Trump was right to threaten to pull disaster relief efforts in the midst of the humanitarian crisis currently occurring on the U.S. territory:

Ranking Member Waters: So you don’t agree that [Puerto Rico] should be abandoned?
Secretary Carson: Of course it shouldn’t be abandoned
Ranking Member Waters: And you don’t think that [Puerto Rico] should be shamed for its own plight? Is that right?
Secretary Carson: I don’t think it’s beneficial to go around shaming people in general.
Ranking Member Waters: I’m glad to hear that you don’t agree with the President.

To view the entire exchange, click here.

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