White House bashes GOP ‘lies’ about FEMA funds

The White House bashed Republicans on Friday for what it argues are lies about the Hurricane Helene federal response effort.

The White House focused on the claim that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is out of funding.

Senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates sent a memo arguing Republicans are “peddling bald faced lies” about the cleanup after Hurricane Helene, and noted that GOP leaders in some of the affected states, including Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, have thanked the Biden administration for its speedy response.

“But some Republican leaders – and their partners in rightwing media – are using Hurricane Helene to lie and divide us,” Bates said. “Their latest missive: baselessly claiming that FEMA is out of money to respond to Hurricane Helene – because of an existing program that supports cities and towns that are sheltering migrants.”

Former President Trump said at a rally in Michigan on Thursday that disaster relief funding was all spent on migrants while criticizing the administration’s response effort.

“There’s nobody that’s handled a hurricane or storm worse than what they’re doing right now,” Trump said. “Kamala spent all her FEMA money, billions of dollars, on housing for illegal migrants. Many of whom should not be in our country.”

In Bates’s memo, he shared a headline about the former president’s accusation against the Biden administration.

“No disaster relief funding at all was used to support migrants housing and services. None. At. All,” Bates said. “In fact, the funding for communities to support migrants is directly appropriated by Congress to [Customs & Border Protection], and is merely administered by FEMA. The funding is in no way related to FEMA’s response and recovery efforts.”

He outlined that FEMA has already provided more than $45 million in direct financial assistance to individuals and families affected by the storm, including more than $17 million to North Carolina.

He also warned about the consequences of spreading falsehoods when people are in need.

“Unfortunately, our country has seen the dangerous consequences of peddling falsehoods. In fact, disinformation of this kind can discourage people from seeking critical assistance when they need it most. It is paramount that every leader, whatever their political beliefs, stops spreading this poison,” Bates said.

FEMA released a fact-check page Friday, outlining that “no money has been diverted” and that “FEMA has enough money right now for immediate response and recovery needs.”

President Biden has called on Congress to return from recess to pass additional funding to assist with the recovery efforts, while both chambers aren’t slated to return until Nov. 12.

The Biden administration has deployed more than 4,800 federal officials to support response efforts, and the president directed the deployment of up to 1,000 troops to assist in North Carolina’s recovery. Biden visited the Tar Heel State on Wednesday and Florida and Georgia on Thursday to survey the damage and meet with local officials.

Vice President Harris, Trump’s opponent, traveled to Georgia on Wednesday and is scheduled to travel to North Carolina on Saturday. Trump also visited Georgia on Monday.