'Will not make it through': Georgia Republicans urge Trump to reconsider Helene aid denial

14 February

Georgia — which was ravaged by Hurricane Helene last fall — is still counting on billions of dollars in federal aid to recover from the disaster. However, President Donald Trump's administration is reportedly stonewalling new requests for assistance.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Friday that Trump rebuffed a request from Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp to allow cities more time to apply for relief. This is despite the Peach State reeling from what the University of Georgia estimates to be roughly $5.5 billion in damage to its agriculture and forestry industries alone. Kemp's request was specifically limited to debris removal and emergency protective measures.

"Based on our review of all the information available, it has been determined that the increased level of funding you have requested ... is not warranted," acting Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator Cameron Hamilton wrote in a letter to Kemp.

The request for aid was bipartisan in nature, as both Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) joined Kemp's request to extend the deadline for municipalities to apply for aid. Ossoff told the Journal-Constitution that FEMA's decision to hold fast to the cutoff date was "wrong."

"I urge the Trump administration to reverse course and ensure Georgia’s local governments get the vital support they need," Ossoff said.

Additionally, Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington) and Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, who is also a Republican, urged the administration to elaborate when aid promised to the Peach State's farmers would be disbursed. They wrote that "Georgia’s communities are still facing unprecedented losses and millions of dollars in incurred clean-up costs."

"Right now, the future is uncertain for far too many Georgia farmers, and without assistance, some of them will not make it through this growing season," Burns and Harper wrote.

Throughout the 2024 campaign cycle, Kemp was reluctant to join Trump on the campaign trail despite Georgia's status as a competitive battleground state. In June of last year, Kemp said he didn't vote for Trump in the Peach State's Republican primary, though he ultimately endorsed him in August.

Trump reportedly asked aides "where the hell is Brian Kemp" while stumping in Georgia. He added that he had "helped [Kemp] get elected" after endorsing him in the 2018 gubernatorial primary. Kemp later rationalized his support for Trump as a "business decision."

“Look, you may not like Donald Trump personally, but you’ll like his policies a lot better than Kamala Harris,” Kemp said in October. “It’s a business decision. You’re making a business decision.”

After the news broke of the administration denying Kemp's aid request, Fair Fight Action spokesperson Max Flugrath observed: "Kemp's 'business decision' is costing Georgia big."

Click here to read the Journal-Constitution's full report (subscription required).

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