DHS Sec. Mayorkas says FEMA ‘will need additional funds’ after Hurricanes Helene, Milton

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Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas confirmed on Thursday that FEMA "will need more funds" after responding to hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Mayorkas made the statement while answering questions from reporters at the White House press briefing on Thursday. He said FEMA has enough funds to address the "immediate needs" of people affected by both hurricanes, but urged Congress to move quickly.

"President Biden indicated that FEMA and the Department of Defense would have to get through their immediate needs in this recovery phase. I'm wondering, after your early assessments of damage from Hurricane Milton, coupled with the damage from Hurricane Helene, do you still believe that to be the case?" a reporter asked.

"Yes, I do," Mayorkas responded. "We have the resources to respond to the immediate needs of individuals impacted by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, and the associated – it's very important to remember – the tornadoes associated with the hurricane."

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Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas says FEMA will need additional funding from Congress after responding to multiple disasters.

"That being said, we will need additional funds, and we implore Congress when it returns to, in fact, fund FEMA as is needed," he added.

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Mayorkas appeared at the briefing remotely from North Carolina, where he is helping coordinate response efforts.

Earlier this week, FEMA revealed that it had less than 10% of front-line staff available for deployment amid preparations for Milton.

Damage from Hurricane Milton is seen in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, on Oct. 10, 2024. (Mike Glynn)

FEMA released a daily briefing on Wednesday revealing the agency had only 8%, or 1,115, FEMA staff members currently available as preparations continued. This number represents a significant drop in availability from a year prior, after an operations briefing from late September 2023 showed the agency had 20% of the same staff available for deployment.

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A FEMA spokesperson indicated to Fox News Digital that the availability numbers released by the agency are only in reference to the cadre of staffers who are part of FEMA's incident management core capacity. They are the first line of FEMA staffers to deploy in any disaster.

Meanwhile, the FEMA spokesperson pointed out the agency has a total workforce of 22,000 staffers it can call on, as well as resources from other agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security.

FEMA is contending with joint disasters in North Carolina as well as Florida. Pictured: Swannanoa residents walk through devastating flood damage from the Swannanoa River in western North Carolina on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024.  (Travis Long/The News & Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

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Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has deployed 10,000 National Guard members in the response to Milton. Roughly 3,000 of those have been sent from other states to aid the recovery effort.

Fox News' Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.