What to Know
- New York plans to sue Trump and the federal government for “failing” to help Puerto Ricans after Hurricane Maria, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said
- More than 11,000 displaced Puerto Ricans are currently living in New York, Cuomo said on Sunday
- It wasn’t immediately clear when the state plans to file the lawsuit or what the suit will seek
The state of New York plans to sue President Donald Trump and the federal government for “failing” to help Puerto Ricans after Hurricane Maria, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
An independent study released last week found that nearly 3,000 people in Puerto Rico died in the six months after the storm hit the island — high above the official death toll of 64.
More than 11,000 displaced Puerto Ricans, meanwhile, are currently living in New York, Cuomo said on Sunday.
“President Trump never tried to help Puerto Rico. Florida got attention, Texas got attention, and Puerto Rico got the short end of the stick,” he said in a statement. “That is not just wrong and unethical and despicable, it is also illegal.”
“We’re going to work with Puerto Rican families and sue the President of the United States because New York is standing with Puerto Rico the way we said we would,” he added.
Nine days after Hurricane Harvey, FEMA approved $141.8 million in assistance for victims, while FEMA approved just $6.2 million in the same time frame after Hurricane Maria, Cuomo noted in a release.
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FEMA also provided 5.1 million meals and 4.5 million liters of water to Houston after Harvey, compared to 1.6 million meals and 2.8 million liters of water provided to Puerto Rico after Maria, he added.
It wasn’t immediately clear when the state plans to file the lawsuit or what the suit will seek.
