Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance on Monday slammed the Harris-Biden administration's response to the aftermath of Hurricane Helen, likening it to an “industrial-scale DMV.”
Vance (R-Ohio) defended the Trump campaign's complaints that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is sending “significant amounts of money” to assist illegal immigrants released into the United States. He accused the government of wasting resources.
“The Biden-Harris administration has effectively transformed FEMA into an agency that assists in resettlement and helps deal with illegal immigration, fundamentally shifting away from their core business of helping Americans in their time of need.” It just takes your focus away,” Vance told “Fox & Friends.”
“I think the fundamental mistake that the Kamala Harris administration made here is that they should have imposed military-style command and control from the beginning.”
Since fall 2022, FEMA has spent more than $1.4 billion to address the migrant crisis. $780 million from the FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter Program. $640.9 million From shelter and service programs.
Advocates for the Harris-Biden administration have argued that some of the FEMA funds used for the border crisis were not intended to go toward natural disasters, and that FEMA has a separate dedicated fund. are.
Trump's allies, including former President Donald Trump's daughter-in-law and co-chair of the Republican National Committee, Lara Trump, said FEMA would also use some of the money spent at the border to help disaster areas. He argues that he should have done so.
Vance argued Monday that federal resources need to be better coordinated.
“There are eight different bureaucracies and many different bureaucratic fiefdoms where there can be delays in providing the necessary resources,” he explained.
“We need to give military commanders on the ground the power to send helicopters where they need to go, get supplies where they need to go, and cut through some of the FAA bureaucracy,” Vance added. “I truly believe that the problem here is really like the DMV on an industrial scale.”
The White House maintains that FEMA has enough funding for initial hurricane response, but ultimately will need Congress to replenish the funding.
“That's incompetence of the highest order,” Vance argued. “If Donald Trump were president, he would impose real leadership and force bureaucrats to respond to the needs of the American people at the pace of business rather than at the pace of bureaucrats.”
