FEMA Director Rejects Claims About Response to Helene: ‘Not Helpful’

The number of deaths from Hurricane Helene stood at 227 on Saturday and is still climbing, officials say.

The director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Sunday dismissed claims about her agency’s funding in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene’s devastation in North Carolina.

“It’s really a shame that we’re putting politics ahead of helping people, and that’s what we’re here to do,” FEMA Director Deanne Criswell told ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday.

Certain claims about FEMA not having funding for its response to Helene because of putting funds into illegal immigrants has a “tremendous impact” on the recovery efforts, she said. “It’s also demoralizing to all of the first responders that have been out there in their communities helping people,” Criswell said, adding that such statements are “not helpful.”

Some Republicans have been critical of FEMA’s response in North Carolina, and many have cited the recent comments issued by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last week about FEMA running out of funding. “We are expecting another hurricane hitting—we do not have the funds, FEMA does not have the funds, to make it through the season,” he told reporters.

Mayorkas suggested that there is still funding to deal with the Helene’s immediate aftermath. “We are meeting the moment,” he said.

“We have the immediate needs right now. On a continuing resolution, we have funds, but that is not a stable source of supply, if you will.”

FEMA spokeswoman Jaclyn Rothenberg also wrote on X: “As [Criswell] said, she has the full authority to spend against the President’s budget, but we’re not out of hurricane season yet so we need to keep a close eye on it. We may need to go back into immediate needs funding and we will be watching it closely.”

Republicans, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and former President Donald Trump, have said that FEMA is using some of its money to provide assistance to illegal immigrants.

“They have almost no money, because they spent it all on illegal immigrants,” Trump said last week. “They stole the FEMA money, just like they stole it from a bank, so they could give it to their illegal immigrants.”

But Criswell on Sunday said such assertions are “frankly ridiculous and just plain false,” although she did not provide details in the ABC interview.

Some GOP lawmakers and several prominent social media commentators, meanwhile, have noted that FEMA in April announced $300 million for “direct funding” to help “migrants” in the United States. Another $340 million went to cities through grants for a similar purpose, according to the FEMA announcement.

Criswell did not address the April FEMA announcement in her ABC News interview. The Epoch Times contacted the federal agency for comment Sunday.

Speaking on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), rejected the claim that North Carolina wasn’t receiving enough federal resources following Helene. He said he expects Congress to approve more funding soon.

“We have the resources that we need; we’re going to have to go back and pass more resources,” Tillis told the outlet on Sunday. “We could have a discussion about the failure of this administration’s border policies and the billions of dollars it is costing. But right now, not yet is it affecting the flow of resources to North Carolina.”

Helene came ashore on Sept. 26 as a Category 4 hurricane and carved a wide swath of destruction as it moved northward from Florida, washing away homes, destroying roads, and knocking out electricity and cellphone service for millions.

The number of deaths stood at 225 on Friday; two more were recorded in South Carolina the following day. It was still unclear how many people were unaccounted for or missing, and the toll could rise even higher.

During the interview, Criswell said that her agency is preparing for Hurricane Milton, another storm system that formed in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to hit western Florida on Wednesday. The agency director said she has spoken with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis about the storm and its potential impacts.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.