Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee formally asked President Trump to declare a state of emergency in the wake of the Christmas Day bombing in downtown Nashville.
“This morning I toured the site of the bombing. The damage is shocking and it is a miracle that no residents were killed,” Lee said in a Twitter post announcing the request.
The Republican governor praised the law enforcement response and released a letter asking the president for an emergency declaration.
The letter noted that Nashville Mayor John Cooper declared a civil emergency a short time after the blast and has issued a curfew for a wide section around the site through Sunday.
Lee also pointed to the damage done to the city’s AT&T building, which impacted communications throughout the region. Law enforcement has said the AT&T building appears to be the target of the attack.
An additional 40 businesses were damaged by the explosion, Lee’s letter said.
The president’s declaration would free up federal funding to help with the recovery. Lee noted that the state has spent $175 million since February 2019 responding to disasters.
The president, who is at his Mar-A-Lago club in Florida for the holiday, has not issued any statements about the Nashville attack.
Source : NY Post
