The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been under scrutiny and faced criticism for its budget going to illegal aliens and claiming not to have money for hurricane relief, which Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said was the fault of Congress for setting out 'very vague parameters' in the budget during an appearance on The Wilkow Majority.
Congress gives very vague parameters in our budget, and then bureaucrats buried three levels deep in our government get broad discretion to convert it into a giant slush fund.
Congress should be specific about how the people's money is used because Americans can only vote for… pic.twitter.com/mkhCa91WPa
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) October 21, 2024
To recap, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said after Hurricane Helene that FEMA did not have the funds necessary to aid in storm relief. Shortly after, it was found that hundreds of millions of dollars were spent relocating illegal aliens into the country, and Inspector General Joseph Cuffari suggested FEMA still had billions of dollars available that could be reallocated to hurricane relief.
While Representative Cory Mills (R-FL) said this justified an audit of FEMA, Rep. Gaetz suggested that Congress also bears responsibility.
"We have basically been on a 30-year trend where Congress sets out these very vague parameters, and then some bureaucrat buried three levels deep at some Washington building gets broad discretion to be able to convert our government into a giant slush fund," the Florida Congressman told host Andrew Wilkow.
"I do not blame them," Rep. Gaetz continued, "I blame us. I think we should be real specific about how the people's money ought to be used because people cannot go vote against that nameless, faceless bureaucrat. They can only vote against for or against us. So I think that has been a troubling trend for decades."
Wilkow had also noted that the Biden-Harris Administration has faced pressure to fire Inspector Cuffari, whom Gaetz defended earlier in October for Cuffari's "continued oversight responsibilities related to the Southern border crisis, and now the numerous whistleblowers coming forward about FEMA mismanagement of the Hurricane Helene response, removing you might be politically convenient for those in power, but Americans would see it as a dirty trick."
