The 2017 hurricane season began last Thursday, and five months into Donald Trump's presidency,* he has yet to appoint permanent leaders in either the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, leaving the country unprepared in the event of a hurricane in what is predicted to be an above normal active season.
If Trump were any kind of leader rather than a clueless buffoon and a walking disaster all on his own who merely uses "keeping America safe" as an empty slogan, disaster preparedness would be a priority. But Trump is no leader, and if past is prologue, those in the potential path of a hurricane this year have reason to worry. Last month he kicked Hurricane Matthew victims in North Carolina to the curb when he gave them a mere 1 percent of the disaster funds they requested.
So, in the absence of leadership at NOAA and FEMA, not to mention Trump's proposed cuts to those agencies as well as the Coast Guard, you would think that Florida's elected officials in Washington would sound the alarm and appeal to Trump how important filling those positions are.
But as always, if you're looking to Sen. Marco Rubio to voice your concerns, you'll be disappointed. Not that Rubio hasn't noticed things are amiss in Trump's lack of attention to the problem, he has. He just has different priorities than preparedness. He's more concerned with relaxing regulations after the storm hits:
Sen. Marco Rubio is asking the president initiate “a comprehensive review” of all federal regulations that could be relaxed to expedite hurricane relief efforts.
“As your administration continues its focus on regulatory reform, I urge you to consider regulations, rules, and bureaucratic red tape that may hinder or constrain Americans’ abilities to rebuild their lives and communities following disasters,” Rubio wrote in a letter Thursday to President Trump. “Floridians are eager to see Washington, D.C., refocus and refine the government’s disaster relief mission to ensure that meeting victims’ needs is always the immediate priority.”
This request is packaged to sound as if Rubio's biggest concern is with Floridians, but anyone who's been paying attention to Rubio all these years has more than a few reasons to be skeptical that this isn't just another vague ploy to weaken regulations in favor of anyone but hurricane victims.
Would Rubio seek a back door to giving big business donors an assist in slashing regulations that could cut into their profits by masking it as concern for constituents in the aftermath of a hurricane?
In a word, yes. Because when it comes to predicting a hurricane's path or Rubio's actions, the latter is on the money for accuracy, even with leaders in place at the agencies tasked with tracking hurricanes, which we don't have at the moment.
If Rubio was truly concerned about Floridans in the aftermath of disaster, wouldn't he be encouraging Trump to first appoint leaders at NOAA and FEMA rather than cutting more regulations?
Yes, he would. But he's not.
If you're looking to avert disaster, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio are the last people you can count on.
