White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre clashed with Fox News reporter Peter Doocy during a briefing on Monday after he queried Washington’s decisions in relation to the provision of humanitarian aid.
Doocy asked Jean-Pierre about the Biden administration’s decision to send nearly $157 million in humanitarian aid to Lebanon amid Israel’s ongoing incursion.
He asked her to explain why Washington had the money at the ready, but had to ask Congress for additional funding for disaster relief efforts in relation to Hurricane Helene.
“On this issue of funding, the administration has money to send to Lebanon without Congress coming back. But Congress does have to come back to approve money to send to people in North Carolina. Do I have that right?” Doocy inquired, referring to a letter sent to Congress by President Joe Biden last week.
In the correspondence, Biden said US disaster relief agencies had money “to meet immediate needs” but would likely run out within weeks.
Jean-Pierre responded that the White House already had set aside “more than $200 million… for the disaster help,” and accused Doocy of spreading “disinformation.”
“People want to do disinformation, misinformation, which is dangerous because then when folks on the ground hear that, they may not want to ask for the help that they need, that is there for them,” she said.
“You can’t call a question you don’t like misinformation,” Doocy replied, saying it was not “misinformation” to say there’s “not enough money right now” for hurricane victims.
Jean-Pierre shot back that the “whole premise of the question is misinformation,” claiming that the administration had the money available to help survivors, and that Biden’s letter and request for additional funding was necessary because it was unknown “how bad” Hurricane Milton, currently brewing in the Gulf of Mexico, is going to be.
The heated exchange ended with Jean-Pierre saying Congress, which is currently in recess in the leadup to November’s presidential election, should “come back and do their job,” before ending the briefing and walking out.
Hurricane Helene swept through the American southeast late last month, killing more than 225 people and leaving tens of thousands without running water, power, or cell-phone service.
US presidential candidate Donald Trump has also criticized the White House response to Hurricane Helene, calling it the “most incompetently managed ‘storm’ at federal level ever seen before.” He accused the Biden administration of “abandoning” storm victims and sending relief funds to undocumented migrants.
However, Trump himself was criticized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Monday, with administrator Deanne Criswell saying he was “having a hard time telling the difference between fact and fiction,” and that such claims were “frankly ridiculous.”