Clinton: Trump should send Navy to help Puerto Rico

Hillary Clinton is calling on the Trump administration to send the U.S. Navy to help Puerto Rico in its relief efforts after Hurricane Maria tore through the U.S. territory, leaving destruction and damage in its wake.

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Clinton in a tweet on Sunday urged President Trump and Defense Secretary James Mattis to deploy the Navy, including the United States Naval Ship Comfort, immediately in order to help those on the island reeling from the Category 4 storm’s aftermath.

“These are American citizens,” she added, along with a retweet of the images of the faces impacted by the destruction.

President Trump, Sec. Mattis, and DOD should send the Navy, including the USNS Comfort, to Puerto Rico now. These are American citizens. https://t.co/J2FVg4II0n

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 24, 2017

Hurricane Maria brought large amounts of destruction as the whipping winds and relentless rain pummeled the islands in the Caribbean, claiming the lives of at least 19 people in the region. 

About 3.4 million residents in Puerto Rico are living without electricity after the storm knocked out the power on Wednesday. Officials are warning that it could be months before they see the lights flicker back on as repair efforts just begin to get afoot.

Federal emergency relief resources are already strained after a wave of powerful storms hit the U.S. over the past few months including Hurricane Harvey and Irma.

Trump spoke with the governors of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Thursday, a day after declaring the impact of Hurricane Maria a major disaster.

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló called the Category 4 storm the “most devastating storm to hit the island this century, if not in modern history.”