U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are visiting Alcatraz in San Francisco on Thursday morning. They are anticipated to unveil plans to reopen the historic federal prison.
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.
RELATED: Trump says he will reopen notorious Alcatraz prison in San Francisco
It’s already getting strong reactions from local leaders.
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi has criticized the plan, describing it as “the Trump Administration’s most foolish initiative,” by stating, “It is concerning that the administration seems to base this idea on outdated Hollywood movies rather than sound strategy.”
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
ABC7 News Insider Phil Matier weighed in on the plans and visit.
Political analyst Matier commented, “Trump aims to project a strong stance against crime. He claims Alcatraz was effective at its time, and he wants to revive it to address urban crime today. However, be clear: this is more about generating media attention. It’s a calculated move to showcase Trump as being tough on crime, with the visual of reopening The Rock serving as the main attraction.”
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…”
“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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