Former President Donald J. Trump on Monday at a furniture store in Valdosta, Ga., destroyed by Hurricane Helene.
Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times

Trump’s False Claims About the Federal Response to Hurricane Helene

The former president falsely accused the Biden administration of spending disaster funding on migrants, neglecting areas that had voted for Republicans and ignoring a call from a Republican governor.

by · NY Times

After Hurricane Helene battered several Southeastern states last week, former President Donald J. Trump wasted no time in criticizing President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the federal government’s response — often making false accusations.

Mr. Trump’s supporters, including Elon Musk and Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, have seized on the claims, parroting his talking points to undercut the administration.

Here’s a fact check of Mr. Trump’s recent remarks.

What Was Said

“Kamala spent all her FEMA money, billions of dollars, on housing for illegal migrants.”
— Mr. Trump at a rally in Michigan on Thursday

False. Funding for migrant shelters did not amount to “billions of dollars,” nor did it deplete the coffers of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. And no disaster funding has been spent on those shelters.

FEMA, like all other federal agencies, receives funding from Congress for specific functions. Its disaster relief fund received almost $36 billion in funding for the 2024 fiscal year, which ended in September. Outside that fund, FEMA also received more than $5 billion for its National Flood Insurance Program; more than $1.5 billion for personnel, procurement and facilities; and almost $4 billion for federal grant programs it administers.

Mr. Trump’s allies have specifically focused on one of those initiatives, the Shelter and Services Program. Created in 2023 by Congress, the program doles out grants to groups and localities that provide shelter and other services to migrants released from the custody of the Department of Homeland Security, which FEMA is a part of. Its $650 million in funding for the 2024 fiscal year came from Customs and Border Protection’s budget. That amount is equal to less than 2 percent of the disaster relief funding and even less compared with FEMA’s total funding for that fiscal year.

In other words, the shelter program and the disaster relief fund have two separate streams of funding. A spokeswoman from FEMA also said the Biden administration has never diverted any disaster relief funding for migrant shelters or any other purpose, adding that the claims from Mr. Trump and others are “completely false.”

Officials have said that there is enough money to address immediate rescue-and-recovery needs that arise from Hurricane Helene’s destruction, but cleanup could cost billions more and FEMA does not have enough funding for additional storms.

In late September, President Biden signed into law short-term funding that extended 2024 fiscal year funding levels through Dec. 20. It specifically gave FEMA access to a full year’s worth of disaster relief funding. In a news conference on Wednesday, Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, acknowledged that FEMA could “dip into funds that are slated for the duration of the year to meet immediate needs.”

“But that doesn’t speak about the future and the fact, as I mentioned earlier, that these extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and severity, and we have to be funded for the sake of the American people,” he added. “This is not a political issue.”

Moreover, it is unclear how much funding earmarked for migrant shelters FEMA could legally divert for disaster relief, at least without congressional approval. The funding package for the 2024 fiscal year, and in turn the short-term funding extension, specifies that funding dedicated to homeland security cannot be repurposed in a way that augments or reduces funding for existing programs by 10 percent.

What Was Said

“I’ll be there shortly, but don’t like the reports that I’m getting about the Federal Government, and the Democrat Governor of the State, going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas.”
— Mr. Trump in a post on Truth Social on Monday

This lacks evidence. While some have criticized the federal response and emergency responders faced obstacles in reaching some areas, there is no evidence that the Biden administration was purposefully ignoring the needs of Republican areas. In fact, Republican governors have praised the Biden administration for its response, and FEMA has designated counties in several states — including dozens won by Mr. Trump in the 2020 presidential election — as eligible to apply for federal assistance.

The Republican governors of Virginia, South Carolina and Tennessee have all thanked the federal government and described the federal response as fast. Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, also a Republican, said that FEMA had been embedded in the state operations center in Atlanta since before the storm hit and “we got a great relationship with them.”

FEMA has said it has deployed more than 1,000 personnel across the affected areas to deliver more than 1.9 million meals, over one million liters of water, 30 generators and more than 95,000 tarps.

Of more than 20 counties designated in Florida as eligible for individual and public assistance, as of Oct. 3, Mr. Trump lost just three in the 2020 election (Leon, Pinellas and Hillsborough). Of more than 20 in North Carolina, as of Oct. 2, Mr. Trump lost just two (Buncombe and Watauga). And of about 15 counties in South Carolina, as of Sept. 29, Mr. Trump lost just one (Bamberg).

What Was Said

“He’s been calling the president, hasn’t been able to get him.”
— Mr. Trump at a news conference on Monday

False. Mr. Trump was referring to Mr. Kemp, who earlier that day spoke about his phone call on Sunday with Mr. Biden.

Mr. Kemp said that when Mr. Biden initially reached out on Sunday, he missed the call but he “called him right back.”

“He just said, ‘Hey, what do you need?’ And I told him: ‘You know, we got what we need. We’ll work through the federal process.’ He offered that if there’s other things we need, just to call him directly, which I appreciate that,” Mr. Kemp added.

Catie Edmondson contributed reporting.

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