Sarah Huckabee Sanders just keeps throwing things at the wall to see what will stick in the White House’s efforts to make the Rob Porter scandal go away. What do you say when caught protecting an abuser in an employment setting headed by a groper? Sanders went with a policy claim that doesn’t hold up any better than the ever-changing White House story about who knew what when on Porter:
Look, we’ve condemned domestic violence in every way possible. In fact, the President’s budget that he released yesterday fully funds the Violence Against Women Act. We’re looking for ways that we can take action to help this prevent this from ever happening to anyone. And to presume that I feel differently is simply a very strong mischaracterization of who I am and who this White House is, and what our actions are focused on, and what we’re trying to do here.
That they’ve “condemned domestic violence in every way possible” is hilarious—like, how about having Donald Trump express half as much sympathy for Porter’s ex-wives as he has for Porter—but let’s take a look at that second part: “In fact, the President’s budget that he released yesterday fully funds the Violence Against Women Act.” Surprise!
Another such token addition is $485 million “to prevent and respond to violence against women and related victims” at a time when Trump, himself accused of sexual misconduct by at least 22 women, hasn’t backed down from defending two alleged domestic abusers who recently resigned from his staff. The provision in the administration’s 1306-page budget appendix siphons that money from the federal Crime Victim’s Fund, which flows, in part, to “direct services to crime victims including information and referral services, crisis counseling, temporary housing, criminal justice advocacy support, and other assistance needs,” according to a nonpartisan Congressional Research Service report.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), a frequent critic of the administration’s policies to undercut reproductive rights and transgender student protections, criticized the proposal.
“Days after dismissing survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence who bravely come forward, the President proposed a budget that pretends to boost funding for domestic violence prevention and response but really takes from funding that is meant to go directly to survivors,” Murray said in a statement.
Business as usual from this White House, and Sanders can really spare us the self-righteous indignation of “to presume that I feel differently is simply a very strong mischaracterization of who I am.”