On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre additional money for FEMA disaster relief from additional Ukraine funding so there’s no chance of tying the two together doesn’t endanger the FEMA money by stating that she doesn’t want to get into hypotheticals and both disaster relief and Ukraine funding “are incredibly important, not just for the president, for the American people,” and “both of those things are incredibly important.”
Host Jake Tapper asked, “So, FEMA has nearly $3.5 billion in disaster relief for this hurricane and for the Maui fires and for any future extreme weather events to come. We just heard from the FEMA director today, she is worried about running out of funding, understandably, she called on Congress to approve the request for another $12 billion in disaster funds so emergency relief efforts are not impacted. We should note, Karine, that request for relief is paired, it’s combined with requests for more aid for Ukraine, which is more controversial to many in Congress. It might be a sticking point for them. Why not separate the FEMA dollars from the Ukraine dollars so you don’t have that problem for those who need this FEMA money as soon as possible?”
Jean-Pierre responded, “So, the administrator came into the briefing room, she laid that out for the reporters in the room, for Americans who are watching. And she said she’ll have more to say. Look, as it — in regards to the supplemental funding that the president has asked for, I don’t want to get into hypotheticals. The president put forward what he thinks is incredibly important that we need. If you look at Ukraine, the president has been very clear, we’re going to help the brave people of Ukraine as they’re fighting for their freedom, fighting for their democracy in this unprovoked war, as we’ve seen from Russia, and we’re going to be there, our allies, our partners are going to be there for as long as it takes, because it is that important, it is that critical, and, obviously, making sure that we have everything that we need for folks, not just in Florida, folks in Maui, any type of extreme weather, hurricanes that we see, so that we are prepared. And those things — both of those things are incredibly important. I’m not going to get into hypotheticals of what it looks like if Congress comes back and wants to split the two. These are incredibly important, not just for the president, for the American people, right? We have to keep our commitments on both sides of these things.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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