They asked why Washington had money ready for Lebanon aid, but needed to request funds from Congress for Hurricane Helene relief
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Fox News’ Peter Doocy had a tense exchange during a press briefing on Monday after Doocy questioned the Biden administration’s decisions regarding humanitarian aid.
During the daily briefing, Doocy inquired about the Biden administration’s decision to allocate nearly $157 million in humanitarian aid to Lebanon amid Israel’s ongoing conflict.
He asked Jean-Pierre to explain why Washington had those funds readily available but had to request additional funding from Congress for disaster relief efforts related to Hurricane Helene.
“On this issue of funding, the administration has money to send to Lebanon without Congress coming back. But Congress does have to come back to approve money to send to people in North Carolina. Do I have that right?” Doocy asked, referring to a letter sent to Congress by President Joe Biden last week.
In the correspondence, Biden stated that US disaster relief agencies had funds “to meet immediate needs” but would likely exhaust them within weeks.
Doocy: That’s not misinformation
KJP: Your whole premise of your question is misinformation sir.
— Acyn (@Acyn)
Jean-Pierre responded that the White House already had “more than $200 million… for the disaster help,” and accused Doocy of spreading “disinformation.”
“People want to do disinformation, misinformation, which is dangerous because then when folks on the ground hear that, they may not want to ask for the help that they need, that is there for them,” she said.
“You can’t call a question you don’t like misinformation,” Doocy countered, stating that it was not “misinformation” to say there’s “not enough money right now” for hurricane victims.
Jean-Pierre retorted that the “whole premise of the question is misinformation,” asserting that the administration had the funds available to assist survivors and that Biden’s letter and request for additional funding were necessary because the extent of the potential impact of Hurricane Milton, currently forming in the Gulf of Mexico, was unknown.
The heated exchange concluded with Jean-Pierre urging Congress, currently in recess ahead of November’s presidential election, to “come back and do their job,” before ending the briefing and leaving.
Hurricane Helene ravaged the American southeast late last month, claiming the lives of over 225 individuals and leaving tens of thousands without access to running water, electricity, or cell-phone service.
US presidential candidate Donald Trump has also criticized the White House’s response to Hurricane Helene, labeling it the “most incompetently managed ‘storm’ at federal level ever seen before.” He accused the Biden administration of “abandoning” storm victims and diverting relief funds to undocumented migrants.
However, Trump himself was criticized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Monday, with administrator Deanne Criswell stating that he was “having a hard time telling the difference between fact and fiction,” and that such claims were “frankly ridiculous.”