Happy October. There are 35 days until Election Day.
Hurricane Helene, the massive storm that ravaged the southeastern United States, killed more than 130 people, left more than 1.5 million without power and devastated communities across the region. Some of these communities will need months or years to recover — if they ever do.
The storm also brought to the fore a number of legislative and political dynamics that are worth diving into. With just weeks until the election and a razor-tight fight for control of both the White House and Congress, everything is magnified. So let’s get into it.
Potential for the Biden administration — and Harris. Massive storms have a surprising way of coinciding with presidential campaign seasons.
Remember, in 2012, former President Barack Obama got a boost when he stepped off of Air Force One in Atlantic City, N.J., and embraced then-Gov. Chris Christie after Superstorm Sandy slammed the Tri-State Area. You may recall that embrace was just seven days before Election Day, when Obama was facing off against Mitt Romney.
In the last few days, three Republican governors from affected states — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster — have praised President Joe Biden for his attentiveness to the states’ needs as they look to recover from the storm.
Of course, Biden is the president — not Vice President Kamala Harris. But competence is key in these situations. Already, Harris has cut short her West Coast campaign swing to return to Washington for FEMA briefings. Biden said he’ll head to North Carolina on Wednesday. Harris said she’ll also go soon.
Harris also spoke to Kemp and other local officials in Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.
“I have received regular briefings on the impact of Hurricane Helene,” Harris said during a stop at FEMA headquarters on Monday. “We will do everything in our power to help communities recover.”
Winning North Carolina is a reach for Harris, no question about it. But the multiple controversies surrounding GOP gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson already had Democrats salivating at the possibility of flipping the state. Harris’ response to the devastation caused by Helene in North Carolina adds another dimension to the race.
Of course, the priority here is to help those in need. But it’d be naive to believe Harris’ campaign isn’t thinking about how to capitalize on the situation — or make sure she doesn’t take a hit from it.
Where Trump is flailing. Former President Donald Trump visited Georgia Monday and claimed Kemp couldn’t get Biden on the phone to help secure much-needed aid for the state.
Of course, this isn’t true. Kemp said he’s spoken to Biden, and the president was responsive to his concerns.
Speaking from the Oval Office Monday afternoon, Biden said Trump was lying.
Then there was Trump’s Truth Social post alleging, without evidence, that the Biden administration and North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper were “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas.”
When NBC’s Garrett Haake asked Trump about this, the former president responded: “Just take a look.”
If Congress returns, they’d likely be in a jam. During a morning news conference at the White House Monday, Biden suggested that Congress may have to return in the next few weeks to pass a supplemental spending bill.
Almost immediately, Republican and Democratic aides on Capitol Hill said they saw no need for lawmakers to come back. As part of the last government funding bill that passed last week, Congress gave the administration spend-fast authority, which unleashed $20 billion in FEMA funds for disaster relief purposes. FEMA can also delay non-urgent projects to free up extra cash.
But should Congress have to return to session to deal with the Helene fallout, it would be a mess. Republicans are all over the place when it comes to disaster relief. There are a number of GOP lawmakers who have voted against storm aid. When Sandy hit New York and New Jersey back in 2012, 67 Republicans voted no on a disaster aid package. Many of them are still in Congress.
That’s not to mention the fact that calling lawmakers back to Washington would take vulnerable members off the campaign trail at a crucial time.
Veep debate tonight: Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) face off tonight in the only vice presidential debate. CBS’ Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan will host the 90-minute session in New York City. The debate starts at 9 p.m. We’ll have more in tomorrow’s AM edition.
Carter Century: Former President Jimmy Carter turns 100 today. There are a number of great tributes to Carter, who’s become far more popular as an ex-president than he was upon leaving the Oval Office in 1981. Carter, who was diagnosed with cancer back in 2015, has lived in hospice care for the last 19 months. Rosalynn Carter passed away last November. The couple were married for 77 years.
