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On Thursday evening, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia tweeted: "Yes they can control the weather. It's ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can't be done."
This is wholly unsurprising for Greene, the right-wing firebrand and conspiracymonger who once mused about the possibility of Jews controlling space lasers for the purpose of starting wildfires. The more surprising aspect is that it reflects the approach the Republican Party is taking generally to Hurricane Helene: rather than doing its job and offering concrete aid to people suffering from the devastation, GOP lawmakers are devolving into conspiracy theories and, like everything else, fearmongering about undocumented immigrants.
As Inside Washington discussed on Thursday, some Republicans such as Senator Rick Scott of Florida have worked in tandem with President Joe Biden in response to Helene. Indeed, even Senator Lindsey Graham put his beef with Biden on pause and greeted his former friend this week.
Similarly, a bipartisan coterie of Senators sent a letter to Senate leaders Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell and the leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee calling for a supplemental package for Helene relief.
That group included Scott and his Florida colleague Marco Rubio; Graham and his fellow South Carolinian Tim Scott; Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee; Democratic Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock; and Democratic Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner of Virginia.
Blackburn and Scott are up for re-election and know they can leave nothing up to chance. And despite his conservatism, Tillis has also focused on getting results.
But these Republicans are in the minority. Rather, earlier this week during a speech at the New York Stock Exchange, House Speaker Mike Johnson all but said Congress would not act.
"Congress has previously provided FEMA with the funds it needs to respond, so we will make sure that those resources are appropriately allocated," he said. In other words: don't expect anything extra, even if you need it.
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