DeSantis’ plea for hurricane aid sparks outrage amid deep partisan divide | Hurricane Ian

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has become a familiar, even reassuring face on numerous television channels after the trauma of Hurricane Ian swept across the state.

But in less chaotic times, Republicans have been on the floor almost all the time, his on-screen appearances are mostly limited to Fox News diehards, he doesn’t sit comfortably with others, and he’s using taxpayers at the same time. Call on public to contribute to hurricane relief’ money for ‘political stunt’.

DeSantis announced at a Friday morning news conference that public contributions to the state’s disaster fund have exceeded $12 million, coincidentally the same amount he allocated from the state budget for a controversial immigration relocation program. , funded by interest on federal Covid relief payments. .

The governor, who could be the Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential nomination, has spent a fortune moving two planes of Venezuelans from Texas to Massachusetts, sparking questions about why he The question of shuttling immigrants between two states where he is not the governor. A dime for Florida taxpayers.

DeSantis said he hopes to arrange more flights before the money runs out, but his actions have led to a criminal investigation and two lawsuits by a Texas sheriff. The first is a class-action lawsuit brought by a civil rights lawyers group on behalf of immigrants alleging violations of federal immigration law.

“What we want to do is … through misrepresentation and fraud efforts to stop immigrants from crossing state lines, especially from Ron DeSantis and Florida,” said Miriah, an attorney for the group Am Albert said.

The second lawsuit, filed by Democrats in Florida, seeks to shut down DeSantis’ immigration campaign altogether.

It’s hard to bear a governor spending millions on political stunts, bashing the federal government, refusing to respect federal agencies’ health guidelines and showing off civil rights, but when his state is in trouble.

— Ken Olin (@kenolin1) September 28, 2022

Joe Biden’s immediate approval of his request for federal funding for hurricane relief earlier this week is also under review.

Critics point to DeSantis’s first actions after being elected to Congress in November 2012 by voting with 66 Republican colleagues against the administration’s aid package for victims of Hurricane Sandy, which devastated the Northeastern states, killing more than 100 people.

In an interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox’s show this week, DeSantis appeared to have changed his mind.

“We live in a politicized age, but when people are fighting for their lives, when their livelihoods are at stake, everything is lost, and if you can’t put politics out of it, you can’t do it,” he said. Say.

Biden and DeSantis are usually fierce critics of each other, but thanks to the hurricane, they have reached an unsettling détente akin to a temporary peace between them over the June 2021 Surfside apartment complex disaster in Florida.

The two have spoken multiple times this week, with DeSantis acknowledging Biden’s support.



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