Thread by @RepDonBeyer

NEW: 65 House Democrats just sent letters to FBI Director Wray and Acting Homeland Security Secretary McAleenan demanding answers about the Trump Administration's attempts to weaken the federal response to white supremacist extremism.

Here's why. 1/
beyer.house.gov/news/documents…

@RepEscobar @repbenraylujan @RepTimRyan @sethmoulton @RepBarbaraLee @RepJoeKennedy @RepMcGovern @Ilhan @RepRashida @davidcicilline We know that white supremacist violence represents an enormous growing threat. FBI Director testified to this effect last month, and the @HouseJudiciary had an entire hearing on the grave and growing threat of domestic terrorism. 2/

https://twitter.com/NatashaBertrand/status/1153679225028796416

@RepEscobar @repbenraylujan @RepTimRyan @sethmoulton @RepBarbaraLee @RepJoeKennedy @RepMcGovern @Ilhan @RepRashida @davidcicilline @HouseJudiciary We've seen the awful toll in El Paso, Poway, Pittsburgh, Jeffersontown, Charleston, Charlottesville, and many other communities. Hate-fueled violence is claiming American lives.

It's getting worse despite warnings about this problem going back years. 3/ time.com/5647304/white-…

@RepEscobar @repbenraylujan @RepTimRyan @sethmoulton @RepBarbaraLee @RepJoeKennedy @RepMcGovern @Ilhan @RepRashida @davidcicilline @HouseJudiciary We've seen a dismally weak response from the Trump Administration. The White House made no mention of white supremacy in the National Counterterrorism Strategy, and cut the budget for agencies responsible for fighting it. This is a serious problem. 4/ npr.org/2019/06/04/729…

@RepEscobar @repbenraylujan @RepTimRyan @sethmoulton @RepBarbaraLee @RepJoeKennedy @RepMcGovern @Ilhan @RepRashida @davidcicilline @HouseJudiciary Much worse, the Administration appears to be actively making it harder to find out just how bad things are. This includes withholding from Congress requested data on white supremacist terrorism, despite the fact that they had a report on hand already. 5/ news.yahoo.com/heres-the-data…

@RepEscobar @repbenraylujan @RepTimRyan @sethmoulton @RepBarbaraLee @RepJoeKennedy @RepMcGovern @Ilhan @RepRashida @davidcicilline @HouseJudiciary Most appallingly, the White House interfered to block the Department of Homeland Security's request to prioritize combating domestic terrorism, according to reporting by @jaketapper. cnn.com/2019/08/07/pol…

Failing to take this threat seriously jeopardizes national security. 6/

@RepEscobar @repbenraylujan @RepTimRyan @sethmoulton @RepBarbaraLee @RepJoeKennedy @RepMcGovern @Ilhan @RepRashida @davidcicilline @HouseJudiciary @jaketapper Funding and personnel requests have not reflected real-world conditions, and it's hard not to conclude that the White House's attempts to downplay the threat of white supremacist violence are related. Close allies of the President appear to have gotten that message. 7/

@RepEscobar @repbenraylujan @RepTimRyan @sethmoulton @RepBarbaraLee @RepJoeKennedy @RepMcGovern @Ilhan @RepRashida @davidcicilline @HouseJudiciary @jaketapper Taken together these developments give the strong impression that the Trump Administration is politicizing law enforcement and hampering efforts to fight white supremacy in ways which may endanger American lives.

That is alarming and unacceptable, and we require answers. 8/8