Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas faced renewed scrutiny this week over remarks that he made earlier this year about FEMA being prepared for natural disasters in the wake of Hurricane Helene devastating large swaths of the southeastern United States.
Mayorkas claimed in remarks to reporters from July that FEMA was “tremendously prepared.”
“This is what we do, this is what they do, and the key here … is to also make sure the communities who are potentially impacted are prepared as well,” he said. “And it’s not just hurricanes and wildfires – also extreme heat, which certainly some parts of the United States are experiencing.”
He claimed that FEMA was well prepared because it had “exercised these muscles, regrettably, year after year” due to what he claimed were increasing weather-related events.
However, Mayorkas claimed to reporters this week that FEMA was now running out of money and did not have the resources to make it to the end of the season.
“We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have,” he claimed. “We are expecting another hurricane hitting. FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season.”
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The Biden-Harris administration has faced significant criticism over its bungled response to Hurricane Helene.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said this week that when the administration released the original emergency declaration, they only included 11 counties when there were 90 that needed it.
“So we called the White House. We spoke to the president’s chief of staff, the FEMA administrator, and said, look, you’re sending the signal that you’re not paying attention to some of these rural communities,” he said.
Kemp said that the administration added some more counties to the list, but the number was still less than half of the counties that needed federal assistance.
WATCH:
Mayorkas 3 months ago: FEMA is “tremendously prepared” for hurricane season
Mayorkas today: FEMA is out of money and can’t make it through hurricane season. “We do not have the funds”
Look at this. 3 months apart: pic.twitter.com/aX3o0NGihb
— Gregg Re (@gregg_re) October 4, 2024
