In the White House press briefing on Thursday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will need “additional funds” to get through the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.
“We have the resources to respond to the immediate needs of individuals impacted by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton and the associated…the tornadoes associated with the hurricanes. That being said, we will need additional funds and we implore Congress, when it returns, to in fact, fund FEMA as is needed,” Mayorkas said. Congress is not in session this month.
“When Congress returns, we will need them to act swiftly to appropriately fund the disaster relief fund upon which FEMA relies to deliver assistance to people…we can meet the immediate needs. We will need funding very rapidly,” he reiterated later on in the briefing.
Last week, Mayorkas admitted that FEMA did not have long-term funding to help the victims of Hurricane Helene. As Townhall reported, over a billion FEMA dollars were spent on illegal immigrants in recent years.
“We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have. We are expecting another hurricane hitting,” Mayorkas said, according to the Associated Press. “FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season.”
Shortly after, Mayorkas appeared to change his tune, stating in an interview with MSNBC that “Everybody should rest confident that FEMA has the resources.”
We are ready. We have the personnel…We can respond to multiple events at a single time,” Mayorkas stated.
Last week, Townhall also covered how several whistleblowers came forward alleging that FEMA misappropriated funds in the wake of Hurricane Helene. This was outlined in a letter to Mayorkas from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
“FEMA has wasted taxpayer funds, misappropriated funds, and left other federal, state, and local responders without deployment orders on the ground,” the letter stated. “As reported and further confirmed by my office, hundreds, if not thousands, of service members were deployed by the Department of Defense to North Carolina and have say idle, waiting for FEMA.”
“We have confirmed FEMA employees deployed, on the clock, awaiting orders in hotels. FEMA pre-disaster aid was withheld, exacerbating the emergency. It is also public that NGOs have purchased airline tickets for migrants through the use of FEMA funds,” it added.
BREAKING: FEMA whistleblowers have come forward alleging that the agency misappropriated funds in the wake of Helene, withheld pre-disaster aid, and that first responders and service members have been waiting in hotels without deployment orders. pic.twitter.com/uf0XrspRTz
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 4, 2024