Federal Aid Ramps Up As Florida Recovers From Hurricane Milton

Hurricane Milton's much-anticipated trek across Florida was not the 'worst-case scenario' officials had feared, but the damage is still significant, with millions still without power 24 hours after landfall and the death toll rising.

The impact of the storm appears to have been mitigated by a late shift to the south of Tampa and a slight weakening to category 3, as well as by ample preparation.

As Milton roared ashore Wednesday evening, rescue crews were in place, ready to help with emergency evacuations and rescues.

On top of considerable state and local assets, the Biden administration surged nearly 3,000 emergency response personnel from FEMA and the Coast Guard to the area.

Thursday Florida officials expressed gratitude for the federal assistance, and for the utility workers from across the country who were helping restore power.

“We staged — pre-staged — 50,000 linemen throughout the state of Florida,” DeSantis said, “and so those folks are going to work.”

A hyper-focus on disaster preparation and response comes as the presidential campaigns, primarily the Trump campaign, have sought to politicize the federal government's response to Hurricane Helene, which devastated communities from Florida to Georgia to western North Carolina.

At a rally Wednesday in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the birthplace of President Biden, Trump continued to claim that FEMA is diverting disaster relief funds to migrants.

“They say they had no money,” Trump told the crowd. “You know where they gave the money? To illegal immigrants coming in.”

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell has heard this and numerous other allegations from the former president and his allies.

“Absolutely false,” Criswell told reporters. “There has been no money at all taken from the Disaster Relief Fund to support anything other than our ability to help people.”

FEMA officials say their Shelter and Services Program relies on a totally separate source of funding.

The agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security, has set up a special page on its website to combat misinformation but President Biden addressed the issue head-on Thursday. In particular, he criticized Republicans for spreading the rumor that storm victims would get $750 from FEMA and nothing more.

“Mr. Trump and every — all those other people know it's a lie to suggest that's all they're gonna get,” said an exasperated Biden. “That's bizarre, it’s bizarre — they gotta stop this.”

Biden says politicizing disaster relief is 'un-American.'