Speaker of the House Mike Johnson Criticized the Biden administration’s handling of Hurricane Helene relief efforts, calling the federal government’s response an “absolute failure.”
“At the federal level, it’s been a colossal failure. And you can just ask people who have been there. I’ve been there. I’ve been in Georgia. I’ve been in Florida, where Hurricane Helene made landfall there. And Then we will go to the hardest-hit parts of North Carolina on Wednesday of this week, when you talk to the people who are directly affected, they will tell you this is an abject failure,” Johnson, R-La. .., Fox News’ Shannon Bream said during an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”
Hurricane Helen has left more More than 220 people died in flooding that devastated towns and cities in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.
Johnson further said that the country had more than a week’s warning of the storm, and FEMA should have been better prepared to assist victims.
Speaker Mike Johnson said FEMA should have been better prepared to assist victims. (Getty Images)
“I think in many cases FEMA has lost sight of its core mission. And The administration did not show That they were prepared for this situation and this terrible disaster. Shannon, the thing about storms is that we already know they’re coming. You know, they had over a week’s notice about this, and yet we still have people who have not been served and not even saved in North Carolina. “It is heartbreaking, sad and infuriating that the federal government has failed,” he said.
A rescue team swims in the Swannanoa River on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. The remnants of Hurricane Helene caused widespread flooding, downed trees and power outages in western North Carolina. (Travis Long/The News & Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Republican elected officials, Elon Musk and volunteers have spoken out against the government’s response to the storm, as crews continue to search for missing people and bodies in the affected area.
Hurricane Helen: North Carolina residents struggle for survival as basic goods become scarce
“There’s a complete failure of the federal government in North Carolina, of weak leadership here, and of the mentally strong in Florida to send us here,” said John Howard of the Florida Guard Special Mission Unit, which is assisting in rescue efforts in North Carolina. Leadership is needed.” , said on Fox News last week. “If (Governor Ron) DeSantis hadn’t sent the State Guard Special Mission Unit here, this would never have happened. But there is no support here. There is no leadership.”
A bridge over Mill Creek suffers flood damage after Hurricane Helene on September 30, 2024 in Old Fort, North Carolina. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
“When we meet these locals on the ground, they ask, like, ‘You’re from the State Guard?’ I say, ‘I’m from Florida,’ and they say, ‘Where’s North Carolina?’ You know, they’re asking where their leadership is,” he added. “They have no understanding of what’s going on, and then we also have people, officials, who are telling us from Lakemoor, Trying to get it out of Chimney Rock… bullshit. They’re asking me for my permission to do this here… It’s the craziest thing you’ll ever see, it’s like they want these people dead.”
Musk criticized FEMA on Friday for “blocking” shipments of Starlink satellite internet delivery to North Carolina as the devastated area tries to get back online.
Trump hits out at Biden, Harris over federal response to hurricane: ‘Incompetently managed’
“FEMA is not only failing to adequately help people in trouble, but actively deterring citizens from trying to help!” Musk posted on X.
Musk said later that day that the problem had been “resolved”, crediting Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, while FEMA denied any claims that it had seized any supplies for storm victims.
The remains of a home are seen in Lake Lure, North Carolina, on October 2, 2024, after the passage of Hurricane Helene. (Allison Joyce/AFP via Getty Images)
President Biden surveys the damage He spoke and met with victims of the hurricanes that struck North Carolina and South Carolina last week, as well as in Florida and Georgia on Thursday and called on Congress to replenish funding for disaster relief programs.
Johnson continued that Congress will return to session immediately after the election on November 5 to address additional funding to FEMA for potential additional hurricanes and natural disasters in the immediate future.
House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks during a news conference in Washington, DC, on June 26, 2024. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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“Congress will do its job. Remember that before leaving Washington, the day before Helen hit, Congress made a landslide, Congress grabbed 20 billion additional dollars to FEMA So that they can have immediate dollars available to meet their immediate needs. Then after that, Congress always takes the appropriate approach of providing what’s needed,” he said, explaining that Congress first needs to see loss estimates from states, which he said will take time to calculate. Could.
