Johnson slams Biden administration’s ‘abject failure’ assisting Hurricane Helene victims

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson slammed the Biden administration’s handling of Hurricane Helene alleviation efforts, calling the national government’s effect an "abject failure." 

"At the national level, this has been a monolithic failure. And you could conscionable inquire the radical determination connected the ground. I person been there. I was successful Georgia. I was successful Florida, wherever Hurricane Helene made landfall determination connected the coast. And past we'll beryllium going to the hardest deed parts of North Carolina connected Wednesday of this week. When you speech to the radical who are straight affected, they volition archer you that this has been an abject failure," Johnson, R-La., told Fox News’ Shannon Bream during an interrogation connected "Fox News Sunday." 

Hurricane Helene has near more than 220 radical dormant aft flooding devastated towns and cities crossed Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.

Johnson went connected to accidental that the federation had much than a week’s informing of the hurricane, and that FEMA should person been amended prepared to assistance victims. 

SPEAKER JOHNSON RIPS ‘LACK OF LEADERSHIP’ IN BIDEN ADMIN'S HELENE RESPONSE: 'ALARMED AND DISAPPOINTED'

Speaker Mike Johnson said FEMA should person been amended prepared to assistance victims. (Getty Images)

"FEMA has mislaid show of its halfway mission, I think, successful truthful galore cases. And the medication has not shown that they were prepared for this eventuality and this unspeakable disaster. The happening astir hurricanes, Shannon, is that we cognize that they're coming good successful advance. You know, they had much than a week's announcement of this, and yet we inactive person radical who person not been served and adjacent rescued successful North Carolina. It is simply a heartbreaking, tragic and infuriating concern to person the national authorities neglect arsenic they have," helium said. 

NORTH CAROLINA REELING FROM DEVASTATING HELENE AS DEATH TOLL CLIMBS: ‘NEVER SEEN ANYTHING QUITE LIKE THIS’

A rescue squad paddles down the Swannanoa River connected Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. The remnants of Hurricane Helene caused wide flooding, downed trees, and powerfulness outages successful occidental North Carolina. (Travis Long/The News & Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Republican elected officials, Elon Musk and volunteers person spoken retired against the government’s effect to the hurricane, arsenic crews proceed searching for missing radical and bodies crossed the affected region. 

HURRICANE HELENE: NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENTS FIGHT FOR THEIR SURVIVAL AS BASIC GOODS BECOME SCARCE

"There's conscionable a implicit nonaccomplishment of anemic enactment present successful North Carolina, the national government, and it takes mind-strong enactment successful Florida to nonstop america up here," Florida Guard Special Missions Unit’s Jon Howard, who is assisting rescue efforts successful North Carolina, said connected Fox News past week. "If it wasn't for [Gov. Ron] DeSantis sending the authorities defender peculiar missions portion up here, this ne'er adjacent would person happened. But there's conscionable nary enactment here. There's nary leadership."

Flood harm astatine a span crossed Mill Creek successful the aftermath of Hurricane Helene connected Sept. 30, 2024 successful Old Fort, North Carolina. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

"When we conscionable these locals connected the ground, they're asking, like, 'You're from the authorities guard?' I'm like, ‘I americium from Florida,’ and they're like, 'Where's North Carolina?' You know, they're asking wherever their enactment is," helium continued. "They person nary knowing of what's going on, and past we've adjacent had people, officials here, effort to footwear america retired of Lakemoor, retired of Chimney Rock... Nonsense stuff. They're asking maine for my authorizations to beryllium here… It's the astir insane happening you would ever see. It's similar they privation these radical to die."

Musk slammed FEMA connected Friday for "blocking" shipments of Starlink outer net deliveries to North Carolina arsenic ravaged areas effort to get backmost online. 

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"FEMA is not simply failing to adequately assistance radical successful trouble, but is actively blocking citizens who effort to help!" Musk posted connected X. 

Musk said aboriginal that time that the occupation was "resolved," crediting Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, with FEMA denying immoderate claims it confiscated immoderate supplies for hurricane victims. 

The remnants of a location are seen successful Lake Lure, North Carolina, Oct. 2, 2024, aft the transition of Hurricane Helene. (Allison Joyce/AFP via Getty Images)

President Biden surveyed damage from the hurricane successful North Carolina and South Carolina past week, arsenic good arsenic spoke and met with victims successful Florida and Georgia connected Thursday, and called connected Congress to replenish funds for catastrophe alleviation programs. 

Johnson continued that Congress volition beryllium backmost successful league instantly pursuing the predetermination connected Nov. 5 to code further backing to FEMA for imaginable further hurricanes and earthy disasters successful the contiguous future. 

ELON MUSK SLAMS FEMA OVER HELENE RESPONSE IN NORTH CAROLINA AS SPACEX LOOKS TO SET UP NEW STARLINKS

House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks during a quality league successful Washington, D.C., connected June 26, 2024. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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"Congress volition bash its job. Remember that earlier we near Washington, the time earlier Helene hit, by the way, made landfall, Congress appropriated 20 cardinal additional dollars to FEMA truthful that they would person the contiguous dollars they request to code the contiguous needs. Then aft that, Congress ever takes its – the owed attack of providing what is necessary," helium said, explaining that Congress archetypal needs to spot estimates connected the harm from states, which helium said tin instrumentality clip to calculate.