WASHINGTON — On Sunday, President Joe Biden plans to assess the destruction caused by Hurricane Milton along Florida’s Gulf Coast while advocating for Congress to approve extra emergency disaster relief funding. Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris is spending her second day in North Carolina, which was severely impacted by Hurricane Helene, where she will attend a Black church service and hold a campaign rally.
Biden’s visit to Florida signifies his effort to urge Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to expedite legislation for additional aid before the November 5 elections. Johnson, however, has indicated that any discussions regarding funding will take place after the elections.
“I believe Speaker Johnson will understand that he needs to take action, especially for small businesses,” Biden stated when he and Harris met with their aides on Friday to strategize the federal response to both hurricanes. Thus far, there has been no direct conversation between Biden and Johnson regarding this topic.
During his visit to Florida, Biden is expected to announce a $612 million investment for six Department of Energy projects aimed at enhancing the resilience of the electrical grid in hurricane-affected areas. Of this amount, $94 million will go to two specific projects in Florida, with $47 million allocated to Gainesville Regional Utilities and an additional $47 million for Switched Source in partnership with Florida Power and Light.
On Saturday, Harris visited Raleigh, where she engaged with Black elected officials and community leaders and assisted volunteers in preparing personal care packages for Hurricane Helene victims in western North Carolina.
Harris will continue her Sunday activities in Greenville, participating in a church service as part of her campaign’s “Souls to the Polls” initiative aimed at mobilizing Black churchgoers ahead of Election Day. She is also slated to hold a rally focused on her economic strategies and the start of early voting in North Carolina, as announced by her campaign.
Over the coming week, Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, are set to campaign in pivotal states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina, according to an anonymous campaign official.
With less than a month remaining until Election Day, the hurricanes have further complicated the already tightly contested presidential race.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has criticized the Biden administration’s response to the hurricanes, particularly regarding North Carolina following Hurricane Helene. In response, Biden and Harris have pointed out Trump’s dissemination of false narratives regarding federal assistance efforts.
After Helene struck in late September, Trump made several misleading claims, including that federal aid was being deliberately withheld from Republican areas affected by disasters. He also falsely asserted that FEMA had exhausted its funds due to allocations for programs assisting undocumented immigrants.
Biden commented that while he does not place sole blame on Trump for the spread of misinformation, he acknowledged that Trump has contributed significantly to it.
The president continues to push Congress for prompt action to ensure that the Small Business Administration and FEMA have the necessary funding to navigate the ongoing hurricane season, which concludes on November 30 in the Atlantic. He noted that Hurricane Milton alone may have generated damages nearing $50 billion.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas indicated last week that FEMA can address immediate needs arising from both storms. However, he cautioned that the agency faces a funding shortfall as the hurricane season progresses.
Johnson, on the other hand, has countered that the agencies currently possess sufficient resources and that discussions about funding will be postponed until after the elections during the lame-duck session.
Meanwhile, tensions have surfaced between Harris and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. As Hurricane Helene approached Florida, accusations ensued from both sides regarding attempts to politicize the federal response.
Harris’s office suggested that DeSantis was avoiding her attempts to communicate, while DeSantis countered that he was unaware of any calls and criticized her for not being engaged in the federal response prior to her nomination.
Biden expressed hope to meet with DeSantis during his visit on Sunday, contingent on the governor’s schedule. “He’s shown considerable cooperation,” Biden remarked, adding, “We’ve had a very strong working relationship.”
DeSantis stated on Saturday that he was not informed about the president’s visit. Biden is slated to conduct an aerial tour of the damage extending from Tampa to St. Pete Beach, where he will receive briefings on the hurricane from federal, state, and local officials. He also plans to interact with residents and first responders.
Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 storm last Wednesday, resulting in at least 10 fatalities and leaving hundreds of thousands of residents without power.
Officials noted that the impacts could have been significantly worse if extensive evacuations had not been carried out, and the recent devastation from Helene likely prompted many people to seek shelter.