It will be up to the federal government, not just Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, to help the state recover from the hard blow it took from Hurricane Ian, Rep. Pete Sessions, whose state of Texas took a similar hard hit from Hurricane Harvey in 2017, said Saturday on Newsmax.
"Gov. DeSantis has a partner, and that partner is with the federal government," the Republican congressman said on Newsmax's "Saturday Report." "The federal relationship with the state of Florida and South Carolina — let's not forget them — is very important."
The attention is not only on the Federam Emergency Management Agency as the storm recovery continues, but it's now on President Joe Biden, as it has been on other presidents, to lead, to effectively work through red-tape issues, to get help out quickly to where it is needed and then "to control that relationship that is so important with the states," said Sessions.
"Our 50 states want and need a federal government that will be participatory with them and meets their needs," he added.
Sessions said he's pleased with DeSantis' reaction and thinks the people of Florida are resilient and will recover from the storm; but still, he said, it's difficult.
"There is tremendous damage. But when you've got boats in your back yard, when you have manatees that are up and down your highways, you've got a problem," he added.
The congressman further on Saturday said he's not surprised by some Democrats who are blaming the strength of the storm on climate change or in some cases, as with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who are using the storm to push for Democrat votes in the upcoming midterm elections.
"Don't forget that [former President] Barack Obama sat in the White House for eight years and led what I think was an equally stunning performance to unprepare the country for its future," said Sessions. "This president is unprepared to lead. But this is the challenge that we're going to have in November to sell the American people that they see what is happening to this country, to their pocketbooks, to take-home pay and, more importantly, to the future of their country."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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