FEMA administrator testifies about misinformation, funding and Trump supporters after Hurricane Helene

WASHINGTON – Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, denied allegations Tuesday that it took her agency around three days to respond to Hurricane Helene in North Carolina.

Criswell testified before two congressional committees Tuesday about the federal response to hurricanes Helene and Milton, saying that FEMA workers were on the ground before the storms hit.

Questions also delved into the need for additional disaster relief funding and an employee who told FEMA workers to skip over Florida homes who showed support for President-elect Donald Trump.

The hearings kicked off in the morning before the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, where Reps. Chuck Edwards, a Republican from Flat Rock, North Carolina, and Kathy Castor, a Democrat from Florida, testified about how the storms affected their constituents.

Edwards spoke for around five minutes about the death and devastation caused by Helene and what he felt went wrong in the federal response.

Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida on Sept. 26, as a Category 4 storm before traveling up the East Coast and leaving a path of destruction in its wake. Edwards represents a large portion of the 25 counties in western North Carolina that were damaged by the storm.

“To put this disaster in perspective, Hurricane Helene took 230 lives across seven states,” Edwards testified. “One hundred and two of those lives were in North Carolina and tragically, 80 of those were from the district I represent.”

He added that only three storms since 1950 have claimed more lives than Helene.

FEMA delays

Edwards told the committee that the economic damage in North Carolina is estimated at $53 billion, and around only 5% is covered by insurance.

And, Edwards said, FEMA’s response could have been improved.

“FEMA’s response was in some ways effective, but there were significant issues that need to be addressed,” Edwards testified. “FEMA’s core responsibility is to coordinate federal emergency management efforts and support state and local officials with critical resources, but it seemed to me, and many local officials in Western North Carolina, that it took up to three days before there was any real visibility from FEMA, and that’s just simply not good enough.”

He said FEMA workers weren’t on the ground in one county until a week later. He didn’t provide evidence or specify the county.

Edwards told the committee that there were 1 million people without power and 25 water systems destroyed.

“I can’t help but think, had this been an attack on American soil, should it take three days to see any real evidence of help from our federal government?” Edwards asked. “I would hope not.”

He also testified that after three days, FEMA officials reported that the agency delivered 400 pallets of water to Western North Carolina, but when asked where the delivery was located, FEMA couldn’t tell him.

Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican from Banner Elk, would later relay this complaint to Criswell again in a 2 p.m. hearing of the House Committee of Oversight and Accountability. Foxx represents another portion of the state that was wrecked by the storm.

Criswell denied the claims made by Edwards and Foxx at both of their committee meetings.

“FEMA was on the ground before the disaster happened,” Criswell said in the early hearing. “I am incredibly proud of the work that the 22,000 members of this workforce have done to support the American people across six states impacted by administrator, catastrophic events in recent years.”

Edwards also testified that FEMA’s communication was often confusing and inconsistent, to both his constituents and North Carolina officials.

“I don’t share these issues to criticize FEMA or its employees on the ground. Many hard-working men and women are doing everything that they can in incredibly difficult circumstances,” Edwards said. “However, as Congress, it’s our job to conduct rigorous oversight and ensure that FEMA is held accountable and improves upon their processes. We must address the flaws in FEMA response to prevent further delays and confusion in the recovery process.”

Trump supporters

Criswell couldn’t escape questions about a low-level FEMA supervisor, Marn’i Washington, who told staff not to help Florida families who had yard signs supporting Trump. Washington told CNN she was following agency protocol.

“The actions of this employee are unacceptable, and it is not indicative of the culture of FEMA, and I do not believe that there is a widespread cultural problem,” Criswell said.

Responding to questions, Criswell said there was no evidence of a requirement to skip canvassing the homes of Trump supporters in North Carolina.

In the 10 a.m. hearing, Criswell assured Chairman Scott Perry, a Republican from Pennsylvania, that she would direct the inspector general to investigate the matter further. By 2 p.m., she testified that she had put in that request.

“I want to ensure that the American people know that FEMA is there to support all people,” Criswell said Tuesday afternoon.

She confirmed in both meetings that FEMA has contacted any of the families who were passed over and provided them the opportunity for assistance.

Misinformation

Criswell also testified about the misinformation campaigns that took place during the two hurricanes.

Among the false information that was widely spread while FEMA was working to respond to the storms was that politicians were able to control the weather and had directed Hurricane Helene to areas that supported Trump. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, was among those who spread this false rumor on social media.

Criswell confirmed she has no control of the weather.

She said it’s common to see misinformation during various emergencies throughout the country, but that peaked during Milton and Helene.

“What we saw during Hurricane Helene was certainly on a scale that I’ve never seen before,” Criswell said.

She added in the afternoon meeting that it caused concern among constituents about whether they could turn to FEMA in the recovery process.

Immigration

Committee members in both hearings asked Criswell repeatedly about a federal program that directs FEMA to provide shelter to people near the southern border who entered the country without permission.

Rep. Rick Larsen, a Democrat from Washington, said this was part of the misinformation campaign that was amplified by Trump when he said without evidence that FEMA spent all its money on undocumented migrants.

“We can have differences of opinion on whether that funding should occur, but that information was false,” Larsen said. “(Trump) also said FEMA would provide only $750 to disaster survivors who lost everything, which again is false. Set the record straight. Disaster survivors may be eligible for up to $42,500 for home repair assistance and $42,500 for other needs assistance from FEMA.”

He added that Congress should consider increasing assistance but also needs to set the record straight on misinformation, regardless of who is saying it. He credited Edwards for doing that throughout his Helene response.

Rep. Garret Graves, a Republican from Louisiana, brought up the issue in his opening remarks, saying he was troubled by how fast the disaster relief fund was depleted.

“Equally troubling is FEMA’s foray into providing sheltering assistance to illegal aliens at the southern border, which has cost taxpayers more than $1 billion, since 2019,” Graves said. “Although these funds have not come from (Disaster Relief Fund), they are certainly taking dollars and staffing resources away from helping Americans in need.

“FEMA’s focus should remain on helping communities respond to and recover from natural disasters, rather than on diverting taxpayer resources toward political initiatives like exacerbating the crisis at the southern border, climate change or picking and choosing which homes to canvas based on political sides.”

He told the committee they need to reconsider how they’re directing spending.

Others agreed, to which Democrats encouraged Republicans to draft a bill making a change.

Funding

Criswell was asked if she had enough employees to fulfill FEMA’s mission.

“I have the staffing and personnel to complete our mission,” Criswell said, before saying she needs funding.

On Monday afternoon, the Biden administration sent a disaster recovery funding request to Congress asking for close to $100 billion in funding.

Of that funding, $40 billion would go to FEMA, which has said it only has funds to get through Milton and Helene, but could not handle another disaster. It also directs $2.5 billion to the Small Business Administration, whose funds are depleted.

On Monday, Criswell spoke to reporters about the funding request.

“To date, FEMA has obligated over $7.5 billion alone for the response and recovery for hurricanes Helene and Milton,” Criswell said in a White House press call. “These storms were incredibly large, and spending on the first month post-landfall for each storm outpaced nearly all disasters that we have responded to over the last 20 years.”

Criswell told reporters FEMA has enough funding in the disaster relief funds to support life-saving response activities for Hurricane Helene and Milton through the end of the continuing resolution, but that assumes no new large disasters occur.

“However, FEMA will need additional funding of approximately $40 billion beyond its 2025 budget request to support the ongoing recovery efforts to these storms and meet our overall mission requirements through the end of the fiscal year,” Criswell said in the White House call.

More hearings

Criswell isn’t done testifying before Congress this week. On Wednesday, she will testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee, where Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, is also scheduled to sit before the committee.