The state of Georgia is one of several states reeling in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, but federal help has been slow to come from the Biden-Harris administration.
Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones told Newsmax on Monday that the state needs federal help and that "hopefully that will come sooner rather than later."
Jones joined "The Record With Greta Van Susteren," hours after the entire Georgia congressional delegation — including both Democrat senators — urged President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in a letter to "promptly consider" Gov. Brian Kemp's request for a major disaster declaration.
"We've had several dozen fatalities because of this storm. We've got about 90 of our 159 counties that have been affected by this. And we've still got a long ways to go," Jones told guest host John Bachman. "We're exhausting all of our state resources right now. And so we do need federal help. And I know the governor has been on the phone with the current administration, and hopefully that will come sooner rather than later."
Biden approved major disaster declarations for Florida and North Carolina on Sunday. The declarations provide federal assistance to help communities clean up and start the rebuilding process. Jones said he's not surprised that Georgia is still waiting.
"This is kind of what we've expected out of this administration," Jones said. "But, you know, this is the storm we knew was coming. This is something that, you know, we, Gov. Kemp, to his credit, took all the necessary precautions on the front end to declare a state of emergency. And we were talking with our federal delegation early on about this because we, you know, knew it was going to be a pretty bad storm.
"Look, this current administration, you know, I hate to play politics with this as well, John, but, it's not surprising that the response has been slow."
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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