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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.
\u201cBREAKING: Florida Trumper Congressman Matt Gaetz votes AGAINST a bill that would provide billions of dollars of disaster relief for his home state of Florida just days after Hurricane Ian destroyed cities and displaced hundreds of thousands of Floridians. RT IF GAETZ IS A JERK!\u201d— Occupy Democrats (@Occupy Democrats) 1664616897
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.
\u201cUntil Congress implements work requirements and stops paying people to stay unemployed, we should shut this government down. \n\nRepublicans have to be willing to grind this corrupt place to a halt if necessary to deliver wins for our people.\u201d— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@Rep. Matt Gaetz) 1664573206
However, Gaetz later wrote a tweet appealing to Congress for disaster relief despite already voting "no" on the measure.
\u201cDear Congress:\n\nOn behalf of my fellow Florida Man in grave need of assistance\u2026.\n\nJust send us like half of what you sent Ukraine. \n\nSigned,\n\nYour Fellow Americans\u201d— Matt Gaetz (@Matt Gaetz) 1664750762
People failed to find Gaetz's tweet amusing.
Many called out Gaetz's hypocrisy.
\u201cMore astonishing than this humanoid's audacity is how many believe him\u201d— Rasha Al Aqeedi (@Rasha Al Aqeedi) 1664804107
\u201cYou mean that aid you voted against? That aid? STFU. As for Ukraine, you\u2019re very popular in Russia. I\u2019m sure that KGB guy Putin would happily give you an officer\u2019s commission in the Russian army.\u201d— Bob Holley\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Bob Holley\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1664802460
\u201cMeanwhile, back in the real world . . .\n\nMatt Gaetz was one of 16 Florida lawmakers who just voted against the $18.8 billion bill for federal disaster aid.\u201d— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@Mrs. Betty Bowers) 1664812925
\u201c.@mattgaetz and every Florida Republican voted AGAINST $18.8 billion in hurricane relief money for Florida this week. \n\nDoes the GOP only work for Putin?\u201d— James Connor (@James Connor) 1664767766
\u201cDear Matt \n\nPerhaps if you wanted it? \n\nYou should have voted for it. \n\n*checks notes* \n\nYou didn\u2019t. \n\nPutting the duh into Floriduh man daily\u2026\u201d— Amanda Bail (@Amanda Bail) 1664785223
\u201cDid you seriously post this after voting against federal disaster relief? #VoteOutEveryRepublican but especially @mattgaetz! #ElectRebekahJones4Florida \n\nhttps://t.co/4uFPrJ9apf\u201d— \ud83c\udf0a #VeryAsian \ud83c\udf0a Eric\ud83d\udc94 (@\ud83c\udf0a #VeryAsian \ud83c\udf0a Eric\ud83d\udc94) 1664789135
\u201cYou don\u2019t believe the words you say, dude\u201d— Noah (Spoopy Fella) \ud83c\udf83\ud83d\udc7b (@Noah (Spoopy Fella) \ud83c\udf83\ud83d\udc7b) 1664812921
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.