SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are in the Bay Area and visited Alcatraz Thursday morning as part of the controversial plan to reopen the federal penitentiary.
Back in May, President Trump started talking about reopening the site as a federal prison.
Congress is expected to introduce a bill to end environmental protections for Alcatraz and take away the National Park Service’s control of the site.
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The plan has been getting pushback since the Trump Administration announced it, with critics calling it too expensive and a political stunt.
On Wednesday, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi called it “the stupidest initiative yet.”
Video from ABC7 News Bay Area’s helicopter shows Bondi and Burgum touring Alcatraz.
ABC News is reporting that the officials only invited a Fox News camera along for the visit and it is still unclear exactly what they’re announcing.
Alcatraz currently generates about $60 million in annual revenue, according to the National Park Service.
Refurbishing the island and building a new prison would cost at least a quarter of a billion dollars, according to estimates.
MORE: Tourists, politicians and former inmate sound off on Trump’s proposal to reopen Alcatraz as a prison
“They closed Alcatraz because of the cost,” Pelosi told ABC7 News Bay Area. “And now, not only would they have the cost of running it, they have the billions of dollars that it will take to turn it back into a prison. So it’s really economically unfeasible, and if they want to spend money on prisons and public safety, there are other areas that they can do it.”
The proposal is getting strong reactions from other leaders.
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Press Office issued a statement saying, “Pam Bondi will reopen Alcatraz the same day Trump lets her release the Epstein files. So… never.”
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie issued a statement saying, “There’s no realistic plan to make Alcatraz reopen as anything other than the wonderful tourist attraction that it currently is.”
ABC7 News Bay Area Insider Phil Matier weighed in on the plans and visit.
“He wants to make a statement about being tough on crime,” Matier said. “He said Alcatraz worked, but in its day. It’s time to bring it back in order to counter urban crime. But this, make no mistake. This is a photo op. This is a publicity stunt. This is a tour in order to capture the image of them in San Francisco on Alcatraz, declaring that Donald Trump is tough on crime, so tough that he’s going to reopen The Rock… It’s now pretty much like an old ancient castle out there that tourists go to,” Matier said. “Turning it into a federal penitentiary is going to take a lot of money and then operating. It’s going to take a lot of money, but planning for it and showing drawings and making a statement about it. That’s a lot cheaper, and that’s what we’re seeing right now.”
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