Republicans are calling federal funding for a PATH trail extension in DeKalb County “woke nonsense” and singling out Hank for securing the funding. Why? Because the trail is named after Michelle Obama.
You read that right, John. Last year, Hank announced that he had secured $3.6 million for a trail extension in our district. Separately, DeKalb County thoughtfully decided to call the new trail “Michelle Obama Trail,” in honor of the former first lady’s “Let’s Move” initiative aimed at helping kids lead active and healthy lives.
Recently, the Michelle Obama Trail made a list of projects the MAGA GOP is targeting in its “anti-woke” campaign, along with measures in Ohio and California that aim to offer services to people of color and gender-expansive individuals. And the programs the GOP is targeting were introduced by members of color and women, one of whom is Jewish.
It’s almost as if “anti-woke” means “anti-Black, anti-women, anti-LGBTQ+, and anti-Semitic.”
Republicans have said they might negotiate on the debt limit if they can cut spending on these programs, but their line of reasoning is totally disingenuous. They go on and on about the need to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from our federal budget, but then they claim they’ll be happy with a fraction of a percentage of that? Yep, as long as the cuts come from trails named after Michelle Obama and services meant to help LGBTQ+ individuals find jobs.
Republicans are perfectly content to keep spending billions in their own districts (and Democrats are happy to let them as long as Americans are benefiting), but the minute we name a trail after a Black first lady, they clutch their pearls in disbelief?
Thank you,
Hank HQ
