By George Caldwell, The Daily Signal | January 27, 2025
Vice President JD Vance slammed the Federal Emergency Management Agency for incompetence Monday in Damascus, Virginia, a town near the Tennessee border that was devastated by Hurricane Helene.
Vance, standing alongside Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, told the press, “Unfortunately, while actually the people have done an incredible job of rebuilding this community, they have not had a federal government that’s truly been on their side.”
In Vance’s view, the devastation in the region surrounding Damascus has not been sufficiently addressed by federal bureaucrats who have refused to distribute funds already earmarked by Congress.
“The continuing resolution that was passed just a few weeks ago actually does have the resources to fill that gap, but only if the bureaucrats get out of the way and actually make sure people get the money that they’re entitled to,” said Vance.
“I think the country has decided collectively that we want to help the regions of our country that were devastated by this flood, so why are the bureaucrats not doing the people’s will and frankly holding up some of the aid here?”
Vance’s allegations of federal agencies dragging their feet while southern Appalachia remains battered echoes his remarks in his now viral interview with CBS’ Margaret Brennan.
When pressed on President Donald Trump’s criticism of FEMA, Vance told Brennan, “We’ve got to get the bureaucrats out of the way and get the aid to the people who need it the most. But let’s be honest, Margaret. You talk about the expertise from FEMA—FEMA in North Carolina, in California, in Florida with some of the hurricanes—has often been a disaster.”
On the ground in Damascus, Vance told the press, “We’re putting people over bureaucrats. Bureaucracy has for too long stood in the way of people’s business. That’s gonna stop and we’re gonna fight to make sure it stops every single day.”
George Caldwell is a journalism fellow at The Daily Signal.
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