Matt Gaetz Sparks Fury After Voting Against Federal Aid For Hurricane Victims In His Own State

Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz was criticized after he voted against federal aid for victims of Hurricane Ian in his own state. The storm made landfall in western Florida as a Category 4 storm last week.

Gaetz was among a group of House Republicans who voted against a resolution to allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to use up to $15 million from the Disaster Relief Fund to aid victims of the storm.

The bill ultimately passed in both the House and Senate and awaits Democratic President Joe Biden's signature.

But Gaetz and other Republicans made clear they will not support any funding for the Biden administration, saying in a letter they will not support any legislation that "sets the stage for a ‘lame duck’ fight on government funding that gives Democrats one final opportunity to pass that agenda."

Gaetz claimed he voted against the bill because Democrats "attached the entire funding of our government and Ukraine's to that bill" so it would not be subjected to committee review, hearings, markups or amendments.

He tried to make his case on Twitter.

However, Gaetz later wrote a tweet appealing to Congress for disaster relief despite already voting "no" on the measure.

People failed to find Gaetz's tweet amusing.

Many called out Gaetz's hypocrisy.

Republicans have in recent days attempted to portray President Biden as dragging his feet over the crisis even though Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis very publicly thanked the Biden administration for its assistance.

Last week, DeSantis confirmed he'd liaisoned with the federal government and spoken to Biden. DeSantis later told Fox News personality Sean Hannity "we all need to work together regardless of party lines," noting the Biden administration quickly "approved our request for a pre-landfall declaration."

The White House stressed the political differences between Biden and DeSantis would not affect the federal government's disaster response—a marked difference from the Trump administration.

Biden himself confirmed on September 29 he had approved federal aid to individuals in nine counties, which makes affected residents eligible for up to $37,900 for home repairs and the same amount to cover lost personal property.