Ron DeSantis Not Relying on FEMA As Florida Braces for Hurricane Milton

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has said his state “does not rely” on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as it braces for the arrival of a major hurricane less than two weeks after parts of the state were devastated by Hurricane Helene.
Hurricane Milton intensified rapidly on Monday and is expected to remain an “extremely dangerous” storm when it reaches Florida’s west coast on Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said.
Asked about the state’s preparations, DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern told Newsweek that “as the governor said last week, Florida does not rely on FEMA for preparation, rescue, or response.”
Redfern pointed to DeSantis’ interview with Fox News on Friday, when the Republican governor said that he didn’t think federal resources “were marshaled very quickly” after Helene hit the state on September 26. Helene killed at least 230 people as it plowed across several states from Florida to the Carolinas.
In that interview, DeSantis said he had authorized state assets to go into western North Carolina to help people in need of rescue there.
“You saw in western North Carolina, you saw people that were very desperate. So I authorized air assets, National Guard, state guard, Highway Patrol, to go into western North Carolina. You have a situation where the first people that they come in contact with is some state guard unit from Florida and not any of the federal assets,” he said.
“So the reality is, I don’t think the federal assets were marshaled very quickly at all. But the lesson that I think people should take from this is one we learned in Florida long ago. We don’t rely on FEMA to do any of that type of activity.
“We rely on FEMA to basically be a bank account. There’s federal programs in place. We get our people qualified for individual assistance, reimbursement for some of the debris, but we take the matters into our own hands for the preparation and the rescue and response.”
The White House has been contacted for comment via email.
On Monday, Washington said that the federal government is “preparing to support affected communities wherever and whenever needed” ahead of Milton’s arrival, noting that President Joe Biden had quickly approved DeSantis’ request for an emergency declaration.
“Under an emergency declaration, FEMA provides direct federal support to states for lifesaving activities and other emergency protective measures, such as evacuation, sheltering, and search and rescue,” the White House said.
It added that FEMA has “sufficient funding” to support the response to both Milton and Helene, amid concerns that the agency will soon run out of money. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters on Wednesday that the agency can meet immediate needs, but does not have enough funding to make it through the hurricane season.
The response to Helene has become a political flashpoint just four weeks before the presidential election.
Republicans, led by former President Donald Trump, have promoting a number of false claims in the wake of Helene, including that FEMA is not able to respond well enough because it has spent all of its money helping migrants and that the agency is intentionally withholding aid to people in Republican areas.
Deanne Criswell, who leads FEMA, said such claims are “just plain false” and are “demoralizing” aid workers and creating fear in people who need recovery assistance.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, called Trump “incredibly irresponsible” for spreading the false claims.
She has also criticized DeSantis, suggesting he’s “playing political games” in Helene’s aftermath after NBC News reported that the governor was refusing to take her calls.
“People are in desperate need of support right now and playing political games at this moment in these crisis situations ( … ) is utterly irresponsible,” Harris said, when asked about the report.
DeSantis said on Monday afternoon that he “didn’t know that she had called.”
On Monday evening, he said on Fox News that Harris was “delusional” for criticizing him when he has been focused on the people of his state.
“She has no role in this,” DeSantis said, adding that he’d been in contact with Biden and federal officials. “In fact, she’s been vice president for three and a half years. I’ve dealt with a number of storms under this administration, and she has never contributed anything to any of these efforts.”
DeSantis said he had worked well with Biden and Trump during past hurricanes and the vice president is “the first one who’s trying to politicize the storm and she’s doing that just because of her campaign.”
He added: “I don’t have time for political games.”