Louisiana Republicans unload on White House over climate change tweet on Katrina anniversary

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FIRST ON FOX: Louisiana Republicans unloaded on the White House for using the anniversaries of the two most damaging hurricanes in state history to "push their radical Green New Deal."

August 29 marked the anniversaries of both Hurricanes Katrina and Ida making landfall in the Pelican State, each storm the most destructive and second most destructive hurricanes in state history, respectively.

In response to a tweet recognizing the anniversary of the two storms, White House regional communications director Dhara Nayyar said hurricanes and other natural disasters are a "reminder" of the "climate crisis."

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A visible satellite image of Hurricane Ida approaching land in the Gulf of Mexico taken by NOAA's GOES-16 (GOES East) satellite at 4:10 am (EDT) on August 29, 2021.  (NOAA)

"As [Biden] knows, hurricanes, flooding and wildfires serve as a reminder that ‘the climate crisis is here," Nayyar tweeted on the anniversaries of Hurricanes Katrina and Ida.

"That's why he announced executive actions to combat this emergency and protect communities from the impacts already at hand," she continued.

Louisiana Republicans had choice words for the administration over the tweet, with House Minority Whip Steve Scalise torching the White House over the tweet in a statement to Fox News Digital.

"On the anniversary of tragedies like Hurricane Katrina that took the lives of more than a thousand people, due primarily to the failure of federal levees, the White House should be more focused on fulfilling their commitment to our communities rather than using the anniversary of a tragedy to push their radical Green New Deal agenda that is crushing families by raising energy costs on hardworking taxpayers," Scalise said.

"Our communities include hardworking, resilient people who have weathered storms and other adversity for generations, and they will always come back stronger," the number two House Republican said. "President Biden’s actions have made gas prices for Louisiana families higher, while decimating the energy industry in the cleanest-producing county in the world, all while begging Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia to produce more carbon-intensive energy that costs us more at the pump and on our utility bills."

The Mound Underpass on Interstate 10, near downtown New Orleans, is flooded as Hurricane Katrina batters the city with wind and torrential rain. (AP)

Rep. Clay Higgins, Scalise’s fellow Louisiana Republican, told Fox News Digital that everything "the Biden administration does is agenda driven."

"It is no surprise to see Biden officials use the anniversary of hurricanes to push their Green New Deal agenda," Higgins said on Tuesday. "Historically, the Louisiana delegation has always battled to deliver disaster recovery funding for South Louisiana, and I support focused, financially-responsible investments in flood and storm mitigation."

"Hurricanes are a part of life in South Louisiana. My office also supports an all-of-the-above energy policy," he continued. "However, I 100% oppose Biden’s weaponization of the federal government to mandate and tax the oil and gas industry out of existence."

Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., a leader in the Katrina recovery effort, told Fox News Digital the "White House tweet on Hurricanes Katrina and Ida is reassuring."

"It reassures me that this administration has absolutely no idea what they are doing on energy policy," Graves said. "The tweet claims that climate change caused Hurricane Katrina and Ida."

"First, the Biden Administration’s bone-headed energy policies have resulted in HIGHER average annual emissions than under Trump," the congressman continued. "Further, shutting down new American energy production has caused gasoline, diesel and electricity costs to spike beyond the affordability of most Americans."

Graves said the "winners" of Biden's energy policies are "Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela — not America."

"At what point will they stop doubling down on stupid?" he added.

When asked for comment on the criticism, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates pointed to previous Fox News reporting "based on a NOAA report during the Trump Administration, ‘Hurricanes are reportedly strengthening as the Earth's climate grows warmer.’"

"And like Senator Cassidy said regarding the climate resilience funding we worked together to include in the bipartisan infrastructure law, ‘2020 set a record nationally for the most named storms in a single season’ and ‘Hurricane Ida gave us a harsh reminder that we need to strengthen the infrastructure that protects us from the worst of these,'" Bates said.

"We are committed to overcoming the unprecedented national security and economic threat of climate change, building a stronger, more competitive economy and creating millions of new jobs in the process," he continued. "We encourage Rep. Scalise to work with us in that effort, instead of voting to defund the police by gutting the COPS program."

Mitch Landrieu, a White House senior adviser, also weighed in online, writing the "climate crisis has increased the frequency and intensity of storms, creating economic [and] national security risks."

"We must build more resilient infrastructure-physical [and] natural," Landrieu continued. "Luckily, [Biden] brought together Dems [and] Republicans to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law."

In the wake of Hurricane Ida, lawmakers from Louisiana such as Republican Senator Bill Cassidy called for federal assistance in storm recovery, as tends to be the case.

Graves said in 2019 that the GOP and Democrats need to come together on solutions to help local communities prepare for environmental changes.

"There is built-up momentum in the atmosphere right now where adaptation is the thing you’ve got to do no matter what, right out of the gate," Graves said.

2020 also saw a record number of 30 named hurricanes with five of them hitting Louisiana.

2005’s Hurricane Katrina is a notorious name in American history as the most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history.

Bryan Vernon and Dorothy Bell are rescued from their rooftop after Hurricane Katrina hits. (AP)

The majority of Katrina’s damage came from the torrents of flooding, most notably in New Orleans where several levees broke, allowing water to rush into the city below sea level.

The flooding covered 80 percent of the city, destroying New Orleans. Additionally, 80 percent of the 1,464 deaths caused by Katrina came from New Orleans.

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On the fiscal side, Katrina was estimated to have caused $96 billion dollars in damage. Meanwhile, it is estimated 2021’s Hurricane Ida may exceed $95 billion, placing it as the seventh costliest hurricane since the start of the millennium.

Ida’s cost was initially estimated to be between $70 billion and $80 billion. The 2021 storm also killed 87 Americans out of the 107 killed by the storm.