Trump denies Holocaust museum’s request for more funding

Members of Congress and the Anti-Defamation League criticised President Donald Trump’s budget proposal that denied a funding increase request by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

A bipartisan group of 64 lawmakers signed a letter asking Trump not to reject the £2.3million ($3 million) funding increase request, The Hill reported.

“In our view, the mission of the museum has never been more important, particularly as the number of anti-Semitic attacks around the world rises,” read the letter, which was spearheaded by Reps. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., Carlos Curbelo R-Fla., John Katko, R-N.Y. and Kyrsten Sinema D-Ariz.

“Now is not the time to cut funding for this national treasure,” continued the letter to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies.

The Anti-Defamation League also denounced the proposed budget.

“The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is the most important American institution preserving the memory of the six million Jews who were murdered by the Nazis and educating future generations about the importance of combating hate and bigotry,” the group’s national director, Jonathan Greenblatt, said in a Friday statement. “In these divided times, with increasing numbers of hate crimes against Jews and other religious minorities, this museum’s mission is as critical as ever. We call on Congress to fully fund the Holocaust Museum.”

The museum had requested a funding increase of £2.3 million ($3 million) from the 2016 allocation in order to cover rising costs, maintenance, equipment support and security.

Trump’s new budget would deny that request, keeping the budget at the 2016 level of £42 million ($54 million) instead of the requested £44 million ($57 million), according to The Hill.

In January, the president came under fire for issuing a statement for International Holocaust Remembrance Day that did not mention Jews. However, he struck a different tone in April, when he pledged to combat anti-Semitism and Holocaust denials at in a speech praised by Jewish groups.