Trump campaign hints at Election Day transportation options for voters impacted by Hurricanes Helene, Milton
Former President Trump’s campaign hinted at Election Day transportation options for those impacted by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton in the southeastern region of the United States. “As President Trump said when we were on the ground in Georgia surveying the damage – may I add he went there before Kamala Harris or Joe Biden did – he said we care most about lives, protecting lives, saving people’s livelihoods. Their businesses were destroyed, their homes were destroyed.” Trump Campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends First.” “With that said, it’s very important that voters are not disenfranchised, and our campaign leadership sent out a letter to state and local officials on the ground in North Carolina saying, ‘You need to provide as many accessible voting locations as possible on the ground.’ Our campaign is reviewing how we can possibly provide transportation for voters who need to get to the polls and ensuring they have access to the ballot box,” Leavitt added. “They have faced this destruction through no fault of their own. And this is Trump country. This is western North Carolina. These are our people. We’re focused on taking care of them and making sure that their right to vote still remains even in the wake of this disaster.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) for more information. The Washington Examiner reported last week that there are nearly 1.3 million registered voters across the 25 countries in western North Carolina designated a federal disaster area after Hurricane Helene. Trump carried North Carolina in the 2020 election by merely 75,000 votes. HARRIS CAMPAIGN DEPLOYS BILL CLINTON TO KEY STATES 22 DAYS FROM ELECTION DAY In an appearance on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” last week, RNC co-chair Lara Trump said the committee sent out a memorandum to Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and the North Carolina General Assembly that provided 10 recommendations on ensuring voter access after the disaster. “We don’t want people who have gone through a horrific tragedy like a hurricane who have really lost so much already to lose their ability to vote in this election,” Lara Trump said. North Carolina State Board of Elections officials announced that 75 of the 80 early voting sites planned across the 25 counties that fall within the federal diaster area of western North Carolina will reopen on Thursday, when early voting is set to begin in the Tar Heel State. ‘CAN’T WAIT TILL THE LAST MINUTE’: NC CONGRESSMAN RAISES ALARM ON VOTER ACCESS IN AREAS HARD HIT BY HELENE “This is absolutely outstanding that our county boards of elections have pulled this off in western North Carolina, given the devastation and destruction left by Helene,” State Board Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell said at a press conference last week, according to the Carolina Journal. “We will be ready even in western North Carolina thanks to the extremely hard work of county election officials across the state and dedicated state board officials as well.” The state election officials are still coordinating with North Carolina Emergency Management and FEMA to secure portable restrooms, generators and trailers and other support for the 540 polling places located within the 25-county area of devastation ahead of Election Day on Nov. 5. The state legislature approved $5 million in emergency funding for the State Board of Elections to deal with the storm’s effects, and state lawmakers also expanded emergency measures put in place by the election board that allow counties to modify early voting days and locations. On Friday, the Buncombe County Board of Elections approved new times and locations for early voting. Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., sounded the alarm on voter access in an interview with Fox News Digital last week, expressing concern after his district was one of those badly impacted by Hurricane Helene. “Folks are still in the process of putting their lives together, desperately trying to get their power back on, trying to get in touch with their loved ones, trying to dig out from the debris and not really thinking that there’s an election coming up here in three weeks or so,” Edwards said. Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind and Matteo Cina contributed to this report.
Bill Clinton suggests Laken Riley would still be alive if border ‘properly’ secured, hitting Republicans
Former President Bill Clinton said in a speech Monday that Georgia nursing student Laken Riley’s murder would not have happened if the alleged killer, an illegal immigrant, was properly vetted. While campaigning for Vice President Kamala Harris in the Peach State, Clinton accused her rival, former President Donald Trump, of tanking negotiations over a bipartisan border compromise in Congress because he wanted it to be a campaign issue. He seemed to suggest that Riley’s death could have been avoided if Congress was able to pass a compromise – despite the alleged killer having already been vetted. “She’s the only candidate who has actually endorsed a bill that would hold down immigration any given year to a certain point and then made sure we gave people a decent place to live, didn’t divide people from their children. And we did total vetting before people got in. Now, Trump killed the bill,” Clinton said. GEORGIA GOP CHAIR SHARES 2-PRONGED ELECTION STRATEGY AS TRUMP WORKS TO WIN BACK PEACH STATE “You had a case in Georgia not very long ago, didn’t you? They made an ad about it, a young woman who had been killed by an immigrant. Yeah, well, if they’d all been properly vetted that probably wouldn’t have happened.” “And America isn’t having enough babies to keep our populations up, so we need immigrants that have been vetted to do work – there wouldn’t be a problem,” he added. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), meanwhile, previously publicly confirmed that people who are encountered trying to cross the border illegally are vetted and screened. The alleged killer was encountered by CBP on Sept. 8, 2022, after entering near El Paso, Texas, and was “paroled and released for further processing.,” Fox News Digital was previously told. The bipartisan border deal also only failed earlier this year, years after the Venezuelan national accused of killing Riley entered the country, still under the Biden administration’s watch. Clinton praised the current administration’s handling of the border and illegal immigration during a campaign stop in Georgia on Monday. “For the last three years, the Biden-Harris administration has done increasingly tough things, trying to control the border. And illegal crossings have gone down every year for three years. Our friends in the other party don’t want to talk about that,” Clinton said. TRUMP VS HARRIS ROUND 2? VOTERS IN KEY GA COUNTY REVEAL IF THEY WANT SECOND DEBATE It is notable that the former president’s speech largely focused on the border in Georgia, a state President Biden won by less than 1% in 2020. The issue of illegal crossings at the border has become a political lightening rod in this election cycle. Democrats in tight races – both for the presidency and congressional and local positions – are emphasizing their support for tougher border security measures as Americans across the country have seen their area infrastructures strained by a deluge of people seeking shelter in the U.S. However, Republicans have long criticized Democrats’ handling of border security, citing the record number of border crossings since Biden took office. They have continued to do so during the campaign by arguing Harris has failed to live up to her informal “border czar” title. Despite several instances of high-profile use in the media, Clinton accused Republicans of bestowing the title on Harris – which he dismissed as inaccurate. “They want to attack Kamala Harris and blame her for anything they managed to keep from happening. Like they claim she was the ‘border czar,’ that’s not what her jobs are,” Clinton said. “Her job was to go down to these other countries that were sending us a lot of people and trying to get them, to enroll them in a legal process while they were still in the country so they wouldn’t be illegally trafficked, show up our border, had to be cared for on one side of it or another, and then we’d run the risk of having people get in here who weren’t properly vetted. That’s what she tried to do.” GEORGIA DEMS CHAIR REVEALS MESSAGE TO UNDECIDED GOP VOTERS AS HARRIS WORKS TO BUILD BROAD BASE He also accused former President Trump of working to derail the bipartisan border compromise that failed in the Senate, and which House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., deemed “dead on arrival” in the House. “He said, ‘Oh my God, we can’t fix the border. What am I going to do for TV ads? Who am I going to demonize every day? I don’t get into politics to solve problems. I get in it to create problems and blame other people for doing,’” Clinton said. Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump campaign for a response. The former president is on a campaign swing through rural America on behalf of Harris’ 2024 bid. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Harris goads Trump to release medical records after she gets clean bill of health from personal physician
Vice President Kamala Harris argued this weekend that former President Donald Trump is “hiding” from the American people and attempted to goad him into releasing updated records about his health after she did so herself on Saturday. “Donald Trump refuses to release his medical records, and he is unwilling to meet for a second debate,” Harris said Sunday. “Why does his staff want him to hide away? Are they afraid that people will see that he is too weak and unstable to lead America?” On Saturday, Harris’ physician released a two-page “Healthcare Statement,” which insisted that “in summary,” Harris “remains in excellent health.” The statement from Harris’ doctor also indicated she had her most recent annual physical exam in April of this year. Trump released his own health records while campaigning in 2016, and once he took over the White House he continued the trend. In August, with the 2024 election quickly approaching, Trump told CBS News that he would release updated medical records to the public. However, he has yet to do so, with roughly three weeks until Election Day. WHITE HOUSE RELEASES MEDICAL REPORT ON VP KAMALA HARRIS “He won’t put out his medical records,” Harris insisted Monday morning during an interview with podcast host Roland Martin. She also slammed Trump for refusing to debate a second time and questioned why Trump’s “staff” would not allow him to do an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes,” particularly when it is tradition for both presidential candidates to do a sit down with the show. “It may be because they think he’s just not ready and unfit and unstable and should not have that level of transparency for the American people,” Harris suggested. The Trump campaign shot back against Harris’ accusations, pointing out the former president has already released voluntary updates about his health. They also noted that he shared records from a July screening conducted by Dr. Ronny Jackson, a former White House physician turned GOP congressman, following the second assassination attempt on his life. TRUMP’S FORMER DOCTOR GIVES HEALTH UPDATE, CALLS OUT WRAY AS FBI AFFIRMS BULLET STRUCK FORMER PRESIDENT “All have concluded [Trump] is in perfect and excellent health to be Commander in Chief,” said Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung. “He has maintained an extremely busy and active campaign schedule unlike any other in political history.” Meanwhile, Cheung slammed Harris as being “unable to keep up with demands of campaigning,” arguing that compared to Trump her schedule “is much lighter because, it is said, she does not have the stamina of President Trump.” On Sunday, during a rally in Arizona, Trump himself discussed his health and argued critics look for any reason to say he is not cognitively or physically fit to be president. “If I pronounce the word slightly wrong … I speak for hours, mostly without a teleprompter … one mispronunciation of a word: ‘He’s cognitively impaired. He’s getting old. He mispronounced a word like the name of the gang.’” “But they love it, you know, because Biden was obviously cognitively repaired,” Trump added at the rally. “[Harris] should have reported him because that puts our nation in danger.” Before President Biden dropped out of the presidential race in July, similar demands for his medical records were made. The medical records never came, but details from an exam of the president, which determined he had been exhibiting signs of Parkinsons Disease, eventually surfaced just days before Biden ended his run for president. WHITE HOUSE CORRECTS RECORD ON BIDEN’S PHYSICIAN, PARKINSON’S EXPERT MEETING, SAYS IT WAS FOR PRESIDENT’S CARE During his presidency, Biden’s personal doctor released at least three separate reports updating the American public on his health. Trump, similarly, produced at least three different health records while he was serving as president. On Sunday morning’s episode of NBC’s “Meet The Press,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R–La., was pressed by host Kristen Welker about whether he thought seeing detailed information about Trump’s health, such as his cholesterol level, was important. “Kristen, the American people don’t care about the cholesterol level of Donald Trump. They care about the cost of living and the fact they cannot pay for groceries because Kamala Harris and Joe Biden’s policies have put them in that situation. The medical records are irrelevant,” Johnson responded. “Let’s talk about things that the American people care about. That’s why Donald Trump is surging in the polls because he’s doing that on stages, in interviews, nonstop around the clock. And Kamala Harris has done nothing.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment but did not receive a response by press time.
Trump opens up largest betting lead since days after Biden’s dropout
Former President Trump took a double-digit lead in the betting odds over Vice President Kamala Harris for the first time since July, signaling potential momentum for the former president as Election Day draws near. Trump opened up a 10-point lead in the Real Clear Politics betting average on Sunday, his largest lead over Harris and the largest lead any candidate has enjoyed since the former president’s 10-point lead on July 31. The lead comes as some in Democratic circles have attempted to quell panic within the ranks after recent polling that has seemingly trended toward Trump, with David Plouffe, who served as a senior adviser to President Barack Obama and now serves as a senior campaign adviser for Harris, appearing on the “Pod Save America” podcast Sunday to argue that the fundamentals of the race have not changed. WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLS IN THE 2024 ELECTION SHOW “I think the freakout is because there were a bunch of polls I’d say in the last month that showed a lead for Kamala Harris that was not real, it’s not what we were seeing. We’ve seen this thing basically be tied, let’s say, since… mid-September. So this is the race we have, it’s the race we expected, I don’t think it’s going to open up for either candidate,” Plouffe said. But the betting odds have also continued to move in Trump’s favor, perhaps indicating solid momentum for the former president outside typical public polling. Trump at one point enjoyed an over 48-point lead in the Real Clear Politics betting average over President Biden on July 15, but that lead quickly began to evaporate after the president’s announcement that he would drop out of the race and Harris’ quick elevation to the top of the Democratic ticket. CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE 2024 ELECTION Harris eventually took the betting lead in the race on Aug. 8 and saw that lead peak at 8.8-points a week later. The two candidates have since traded the lead multiple times and no candidate has enjoyed a lead as large as Trump’s Sunday advantage. Harris’ last lead in the Real Clear Politics average was on Oct. 5, with Trump steadily gaining more momentum in the race on his way to the 10-point Sunday lead. Trump himself has touted his betting advantage in recent days, telling Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on Sunday that the betting odds were “through the roof” in his favor. The Real Clear Politics betting odds average tracks seven different platforms that release odds; Betfair, Betsson, Bovada, Bwin, Points Bet, Polymarket and Smarkets. None of those platforms show Harris with a lead in the race. Trump enjoys his largest lead of 12 points on Points Bet. Neither the Trump nor the Harris campaign immediately responded to Fox News Digital requests for comment. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Ban on gender treatments for kids defended by Republican AGs ahead of Supreme Court oral arguments
FIRST ON FOX: Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is defending his state’s right to ban sex-change surgeries for children ahead of oral arguments in the Supreme Court this fall. The law, passed in 2023, prohibits medical providers from performing sex-change surgeries on minors as well as puberty blockers and other hormone-suppressing treatments. The American Civil Liberties Union is one of the plaintiffs in the case challenging Tennessee’s law. The Supreme Court reconvened for its October term last week. Skrmetti has filed an amicus brief alongside Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, doubling down on the Volunteer State’s ban. “The reason it’s getting attention now is because it’s fairly new,” Skrmetti told Fox News Digital in an interview. “We’ve seen a really dramatic increase in both the overall number of kids who are accessing these procedures, and especially the number of girls who are getting these procedures, that number has skyrocketed from where it was, and it was only a matter of time before this sort of elevated itself as an issue.” WHISTLEBLOWER AT TRANS CARE CENTER EXPOSES ‘APPALLING’ PRACTICES INSIDE GENDER-AFFIRMING HOSPITAL FOR KIDS He added, “There are a lot of lawsuits involving gender identity issues, and so, you know, it’s a consequence of this going from something that was not particularly prominent to something that is very prominent, with a lot, lot, lot more kids affected by it, and a lot more doctors engaged in the practice of providing these transition treatments.” “This is a case about kids,” Skrmetti said. “This is a law that differentiates on the basis of age. And if you look at the evidence, the evidence is most kids who have gender identity issues outgrow them.” Bailey told Fox News Digital in a statement that it is “imperative” that the Supreme Court know “what is happening to America’s children on the ground in these clinics.” “Radical activists are lying to parents and preying upon vulnerable children. When a credible whistleblower comes forward and swears under oath that children are being experimented on without parental knowledge, I take that seriously,” Bailey said. The 18-page brief, which was filed to the Supreme Court last week, includes affidavit testimony from a Missouri whistleblower – identified as Jamie Reed – claiming transgender medical centers have pressured parents into “consenting” to such transgender treatments “by falsely telling parents their children will kill themselves if they did not receive interventions,” the document states. OVER 5,700 CHILDREN IN 5-YEAR PERIOD HAD GENDER SURGERIES, MOST FROM 5 LIBERAL STATES: WATCHDOG “There is every reason to believe these problems affect more than just the largest transgender center in Missouri,” the briefing states. “The whistleblower testified she was aware of similar problems in other clinics; New York Times and other reporting have corroborated these problems occurring in other clinics.” In her affidavit, Reed, a former Washington University’s infectious diseases division employee and self-identified leftist, recounted, “Doctors at the Center routinely pressured parents into ‘consenting’ by pushing those parents, threatening them, and bullying them,” even stating to parents, “You can either have a living son or a dead daughter,” in front of their children. Reed first went public with her experience last year. Reed also alleges that the center has continued medical interventions even after parents have revoked consent. She describes a scenario in which an outside ethicist expressed shock at the center’s practices during a consultation. The affidavit also claims that the actual suicide rate among transgender youth is low, citing an analysis of over 15,000 patient records from a leading gender clinic that identified a maximum suicide rate of 0.03%, with no significant change in suicide rates before and after medical interventions. Despite this data, Reed claims that parents were misled about the risks of not consenting to treatment. ABUSIVE: PEDIATRICIAN GROUP’S SUPPORT FOR TRANS THERAPIES REBUKED BY STATE AGS Reed’s affidavit states that the center advertised comprehensive mental health assessments, but in practice, she was rarely allowed to schedule patients for these evaluations due to strict limitations imposed by the center. When mental health sessions did occur, they were often limited to just one to two hours before gender transition interventions began. This approach allegedly led to medical interventions for minors with unmanaged comorbidities, including autism, ADHD, depression, anxiety, PTSD and eating disorders. Reed also alleges that clinicians from the center misled the Missouri legislature by denying that minors received gender transition surgeries, despite evidence that the center referred minors for such procedures. Washington University has since acknowledged performing surgeries on minors prior to new state laws, indicating ongoing referrals despite policy changes against them, the brief states. The center also did not collect custody agreements from patients, which led to non-guardian adults bringing children in for treatment without parental consent. “Because of this policy, children would present at the clinic with non-guardian adults after guardian adults refused consent,” the brief states. Transgender treatments for children have become a hot button issue as the 2024 general election is only weeks away. While more states have banned the practice, other liberal states have passed laws shielding medical providers from criminal lawsuits brought on by more restrictive states. Last week, medical advocacy group Do No Harm conservatively identified 5,747 minor patients who received sex-change surgery, and 13,994 received some sort of gender reassignment treatment between 2019 and 2023 across the country.
Jammu and Kashmir: Omar Abdullah to take oath as CM on THIS date
The oath-taking ceremony for the new government in Jammu and Kashmir is set for October 16 with Omar Abdullah invited to lead by LG Manoj Sinha.
What is Lawrence Bishnoi’s sheild? How his gang claims high-profile targets across India?
Despite being jailed, Lawrence Bishnoi continues to control a powerful gang involved in high-profile crimes across India, raising concerns over his influence and connections.
Air Pollution: GRAP Stage-I imposed across Delhi NCR, here are do’s, don’ts to follow
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and nearby regions has issued a Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to address Stage I ‘Poor’ air quality.
Columbus Day Flashback: Harris excoriated European explorers for ‘wave of devastation’ to Native peoples
Vice President Kamala Harris declared in 2021 that the U.S. “must not shy away” from its “shameful past” of European explorers who she said ushered “in a wave of devastation for tribal nations,” unearthed remarks show. “Since 1934, every October, the United States has recognized the voyage of the European explorers who first landed on the shores of the Americas,” Harris said during the National Congress of American Indians’ 78th Annual Convention on Oct. 12, 2021. Her comments came one day after the nation celebrated Columbus Day that year, and when President Biden became the first president to formally recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day on the same holiday. Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed a proclamation in 1934 making Columbus Day a national holiday following lobbying from the Italian American and Catholic communities. “But that is not the whole story. That has never been the whole story,” Harris continued in her 2021 speech. TRUMP CAMP RIPS HARRIS OVER UNEARTHED COMMENTS ON RENAMING COLUMBUS DAY: ‘STEREOTYPICAL LEFTIST’ “Those explorers ushered in a wave of devastation for Tribal nations – perpetrating violence, stealing land and spreading disease,” she continued. “We must not shy away from this shameful past, and we must shed light on it and do everything we can to address the impact of the past on Native communities today.” Harris’ unearthed comments are spreading like wildfire on social media on Monday, as the country celebrates Columbus Day. DEFACED COLUMBUS STATUE THAT WAS THROWN INTO A VIRGINIA POND FINDS MORE WELCOMING HOME IN NYC SUBURB Harris’ comments in 2021 followed her saying in 2019 that she supports efforts to rename Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Fox News Digital reported on Sunday. “Count me in on support,” Harris told a voter when asked if she supports renaming Columbus Day “Indigenous People’s Day,” footage of the event shows. COLUMBUS REMAINS, VERIFIED AFTER 500 YEARS, SHOW HE WAS JEWISH: DOCUMENTARY Harris cited recent legislation she helped author that makes lynching a federal crime as she delivered her response to the New Hampshire voter. “People did not want to deal and accept and most importantly admit that we are the scene of a crime when it comes to what we did with slavery and Jim Crow and institutionalized racism in this country, and we have to be honest about that,” she said, the Washington Times reported in 2019. “If we are not honest, we are not going to deal with the vestiges of all of that harm, and we are not going to correct course, and we are not going to be true to our values and morals.” “Similarly, when it comes to indigenous Americans, the indigenous people, there is a lot of work that we still have to do, and I appreciate and applaud your point and your effort, and count me in on support,” she said, marking her support of renaming the holiday. The Trump campaign slammed Harris over her unearthed comments in 2019, in exclusive comment to Fox News Digital on Sunday. “Kamala Harris is your stereotypical leftist. Not only does she want to raise taxes and defund the police – she also wants to cancel American traditions like Columbus Day,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “President Trump will make sure Christopher Columbus’ great legacy is honored and protect this holiday from radical leftists who want to erase our nation’s history like Kamala Harris.” FOX NATION’S ‘UNCANCELLING COLUMBUS’ EXPLORES LEFT’S EFFORT TO WARP CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS’ LEGACY A review of Harris’ X account for her vice presidency shows she has exclusively celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day over Columbus Day each year she has been in office. Columbus Day is a federal holiday that officially celebrates and recognizes Italian explorer Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas in 1492. Activists in recent years have worked to disassociate the day from Columbus, claiming it celebrates colonialism and genocide of indigenous people, in favor of celebrating Native Americans. Activists have also worked to remove Columbus statues from cities, including toppling such statues during the riots of 2020. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Top House committee launches probe into Biden admin ‘priorities’ on FEMA hurricane relief, migrant spending
FIRST ON FOX: Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee are investigating the Department of Homeland Security’s “priorities” for its request for funding from Congress, amid an ongoing controversy over spending on illegal migrants and disaster relief. “The Committee on Homeland Security…is investigating [DHS’] prioritization of its ability to adequately respond to natural disasters,” lawmakers on the committee said in a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The letter comes after Mayorkas, amid hurricanes in North Carolina and Florida, warned that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) does not have stable funding for the hurricane season, although he stressed that they do have enough for immediate needs. The administration has urged Congress to pass a supplemental spending bill. MAYORKAS DOUBLES DOWN, HAMMERS ‘PERNICIOUS’ MISINFORMATION AMID FEMA CRITICISM “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,” he said earlier this month. “This is a multibillion-dollar, multiyear recovery. Amid those calls for more funding for the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF), conservatives have pointed to grants administered by FEMA for non-profits and local communities receiving illegal immigrants during the historic border crisis. The funding this year consists of $650 million, using funding moved over from Customs and Border Protection. DHS has noted repeatedly that that funding is congressionally appropriated and is a separate funding channel from the Disaster Relief Fund, which has not been affected by the funding for migrants. It has pushed back against some claims by conservatives that disaster money has been taken and used on migrants. SENATORS FEAR FEMA ‘ENTANGLEMENT’ WITH BORDER CRISIS COULD HURT DISASTER RESPONSE MISSION “These claims are completely false,” a DHS spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital. “As Secretary Mayorkas said, FEMA has the necessary resources to meet the immediate needs associated with Hurricane Helene and other disasters. The Shelter and Services Program (SSP) is a completely separate, appropriated grant program that was authorized and funded by Congress and is not associated in any way with FEMA’s disaster-related authorities or funding streams.” The Republican lawmakers acknowledge that the funding streams are separate but note that Congress has met or exceeded budget requests for disaster relief with $61.2 billion for the DRF in FY 23 and FY 24. “The Committee, however, is troubled that the Department and FEMA may not have properly apprised Congress of its need for additional disaster relief funds while simultaneously requesting large sums of monies to fund FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program (SSP), a grant program to fund nonfederal entities for shelter and services provided to migrants encountered by the Department, including illegal aliens,” they say. The lawmakers say that FEMA has disbursed more than $1.4 billion through both the SSP and a previous Emergency Food and Shelter Program for humanitarian aid. (EFSP-H). CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS “Meanwhile, $344 million, an only slightly greater amount, has been spent on federal assistance for the communities impacted by Hurricane Helene,” they say. “While the Committee understands that there is no intermingling of funds between the DRF and SSP, the Department’s priorities for limited resources provided by taxpayers to the Department should first and foremost serve Americans,” they add. The committee is seeking all documents and communications from FEMA and DHS on funding for SSP and EFSP-H, as well as the DRF, and anything identifying those entities that have received grants. It is the latest Republican grilling on the matter. A group of GOP senators last week wrote to the administration asking if a “continued entanglement in DHS’s efforts to respond to the border crisis could impact its readiness and emergency response mission.” They also say that budget requests to Congress asked it to continue funding FEMA’s border-related work. “FEMA’s efforts responding to the border crisis could have been much more limited if your Administration would have instead used your authorities to secure the border.”