On Wednesday, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas made headlines by saying that the federal government did not have enough funds to meet emergency needs through the hurricane season, which does not end with Helene.
Despite his careful wording, which acknowledged that it was the full hurricane season that was in doubt, but enough funds were on hand for the Helene disaster, Thursday’s assurances by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has the funds needed for ‘immediate response and recovery’ in the wake of Hurricane Helene’” were taken as a clarification. It was not. It was a mere restatement of Mayorkas’ initial point:
“We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have,” Mayorkas said. “We are expecting another hurricane hitting. We do not have the funds. FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season.”
President Joe Biden said Wednesday, Oct. 2, during a briefing that it will cost billions to recover from the storm and that Congress must ensure states have adequate resources. The funding shortage has led to outrage among Republicans.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott responded on X.
“This is easy.
Karah Rucker, “FEMA’s spending on hurricane disasters and migrants crisis under scrutiny,” Straight Arrow News, October 4, 2024.
“Mayorkas and FEMA — immediately stop spending money on illegal immigration resettlement and redirect those funds to areas hit by the hurricane.
“Put Americans first.”
Governor Abbott’s point was headlined with startling clarity by the editors of the New York Post: “Sorry, hurricane victims: Harris-Biden already spent your relief funds on migrants.” Those editors also restated a point Paul Jacob made earlier last week: “But don’t expect any of this to rise to the PR disaster that Hurricane Katrina proved for the George W. Bush administration: Too much of the media is running interference for Harris ahead of Election Day.”