House speaker Johnson accuses FEMA of ‘helping to resettle illegal aliens’

House Speaker Mike Johnson fundraised for two Republican congressional candidates, Drew Johnson and John Lee, on Monday in Southern Nevada.

The speaker, third in line to the presidency, joined Johnson, who is challenging Democratic Rep. Susie Lee in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District, at a fundraiser Monday morning in Summerlin, where Johnson praised the congressional candidate and said he is “one of the most outstanding candidates in the whole country” and a key to maintaining the House Republican majority.

“Drew is an extraordinary candidate because he has a background in public policy,” Mike Johnson said. “He knows what he’s doing. He knows the solutions to help fix this, and we’re really excited about his opportunity here and making sure that this district is red in November. I think it’s going to happen.”

Mike Johnson, during a small press gaggle, criticized the Biden administration’s response to Hurricane Helene and said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency “has been off-mission” by “helping to resettle illegal aliens.”

“FEMA has not done the job that it’s supposed to do in these affected areas, and that’s on Biden-Harris because they should have been prepared,” Johnson said. “The thing about a hurricane is it’s not a surprise. We know well in advance when it’s coming, and it’s inexcusable what’s happened.”

Congress appropriated $20 billion the day before Helene made landfall, and they had about $22 billion for immediate operational needs, Johnson said. Everyone has talked about the funding going forward, and “we are waiting anxiously for the states to be able to calculate their losses so Congress can go back in and appropriate additional dollars to cover those losses.”

FEMA published a response page to rumors about its response to Hurricane Helene, and one of those rumors was that it does not have enough money to provide disaster assistance for Helene. The page said the agency has provided more than $137 million for survivors, and nearly 7,000 personnel are deployed to help, according to the agency. Since Oct. 6, it has shipped 14.9 million meals, 13.9 million liters of water, 157 generators and more than 505,000 tarps to the region.

“FEMA has enough money right now for immediate response and recovery needs,” it said. “If you were affected by Helene, do not hesitate to apply for disaster assistance as there is a variety of help available for different needs.”

Johnson also discussed the upcoming election and the certification process in January 2025.

Thirty members of the House pledged to certify the election results, including about half a dozen Republicans. If the Republicans keep the majority of the House, Johnson said they would certify the results of the election.

“I’ve spent my entire life and career defending the Constitution,” he said. “We are going to follow Article II of the Constitution we have a responsibility to fill, and of course we’ll do that. We pray and hope that this is a fair and free and, you know, justified election. I think it will be. There’s a lot of work being done around the country to secure the election and make sure that’s true. But Congress is going to do its job. We will, and no one needs to worry about that.”

Johnson also appeared at an Oct. 7 anniversary event on Monday evening.

In a press conference ahead of Johnson’s visit, Nevada State Democratic Chairwoman Daniele Monroe-Moreno called the speaker the “conductor of Congressional chaos” and called Drew Johnson and Lee “MAGA extremists.”

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.