CNN
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Vice President Kamala Harris will cut short her West Coast tour early and head from Las Vegas to Washington, D.C., on Monday morning to be briefed at FEMA headquarters on the ongoing effects of Hurricane Helen, according to White House officials. That’s what it means.
The vice president will be briefed on federal actions taken to support emergency response and recovery. The incident comes as the Southeast faces widespread damage after Helen made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region last Thursday as the strongest hurricane on record. At least 100 people were killed and millions were left without power.
The hurricane made landfall in Florida, but the focus of rescue efforts in recent days has been catastrophic flooding in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Unprecedented rains have flooded the Appalachian Mountain region of both states, leaving thousands of people stranded and cut off from traffic, and first responders face the difficult task of reaching those in need.
North Carolina is a key fall state for Harris and Democrats as they seek to flip a state that has favored Republicans in every presidential election since 2008. Her opponent, Donald Trump, has already criticized Harris and President Joe Biden for continuing in office. They were making plans for the weekend as the state’s devastation unfolded.
The former president also continued to hold regularly scheduled campaign rallies despite such criticism.
Democratic presidential candidate Harris originally planned to make two campaign stops in Nevada on Monday before changing her plans.
“We will support these communities for as long as it takes to make sure they recover and rebuild,” Harris said at a rally in Las Vegas.
On Sunday, Harris was briefed by FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell while traveling from California to Nevada on Air Force Two. He also spoke with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who reassured them that the Biden administration is standing by the overall recovery of affected communities. .
Harris intends to visit affected communities as soon as possible without disrupting emergency response operations.
“We will provide them with whatever assistance they need in the coming days and weeks,” she said in Las Vegas.
President Trump is scheduled to visit Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday, where he will be briefed on the devastation and “facilitate the distribution of relief supplies.”
