Welcome to the politics of disaster relief.

Republicans are excoriating the Biden/Harris administration for how it responded to Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, Tennessee and other parts of the South. This is now about to be a double whammy as Hurricane Milton bears down on Florida.

It unfolds amid a tight presidential election. So the disaster response is now infused with politics in swing states like North Carolina and Georgia. There is also a competitive but not top-tier Senate race in Florida.

Storms can disrupt the typical electorate. The usual people who vote might not make it to the polls. It’s hard to care about voting if you’re low on food, lack electricity and can’t even make it out of the holler in western North Carolina because Helene wrecked the road.

‘IMMEDIATELY RECONVENE’: SCOTT URGES SCHUMER TO RECALL SENATE AMID HELENE’S DEVASTATION

Pray tell, where should you vote in Tampa or Sarasota if your basement is swamped by Milton – after getting drenched when Helene spun through a few weeks ago? You were going to vote at the school down the street. But now it lacks power. You’re now living at your sister’s house inland. But you’re not registered to vote there …

You see what we’re getting at.

Republicans are hammering the Biden/Harris administration for its response to the storm.

“It’s like the DMV at industrial scale,” said Republican vice presidential nominee and Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, on Fox. “It is incompetence of the highest order.”

“At the federal level, this has been a massive failure,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. “When you talk to the people who are directly affected, they will tell you that this has been an abject failure. FEMA has lost sight of its core mission. The administration has not shown that they were prepared for this eventuality in this terrible disaster.”

“Kamala Harris has left them stranded. This is the worst response to a storm or a catastrophe or a hurricane that we’ve ever seen. Probably worse than Katrina. And that’s hard to beat, right?” asked former President Trump.

Storm responses are challenging. Hurricane Andrew was a powerful Category 5 storm that swept through Florida in August 1992. Former President George H.W. Bush’s tepid response to Andrew slashed his support in Florida. “Bush 41” wound up narrowly winning Florida, besting former President Clinton by less than 2%. Bush won Florida by 22 points four years earlier. Moreover, the response to Hurricane Andrew raised questions about the competence of the administration weeks before the election. It’s believed that cost Bush a few points nationwide.

When Clinton took office, he immediately beefed up FEMA to prepare and respond to other natural disasters.

BIDEN GETS DEFENSIVE WHEN PUSHED ON WHO’S COMMANDING’ HURRICANE HELENE RESPONSE

So, part of this tactic is the natural extension of Republicans to undercut the Biden/Harris administration at nearly every turn. This is another component of the GOP narrative that the administration can’t handle the economy. Can’t handle foreign policy. Can’t handle the border.

Did someone say the border?

“We give $20 billion a year to FEMA. And unfortunately, they have drained everything dry,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., on Fox Business. “We spent $200 billion in Ukraine. We spent $220-$500 a month on our illegal aliens.”

“We give $20 billion a year to FEMA. And unfortunately, they have drained everything dry,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said as he castigated the Biden administration for its alleged prioritization of illegal immigrants over hurricane relief efforts. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

This is where things get tricky.

FEMA is under the aegis of the Department of Homeland Security. DHS runs a program that sends money to cities besieged by the illegal migrant crisis. Some of the money goes for food and shelter for those in the country illegally. But it also helps those towns cope by addressing strains on their medical systems and other services.

Money for disaster recovery and migrant assistance constitute two separate line items in the DHS budget. Congress approved money for both these programs. In fact, some Republicans would prefer to spend more to help their communities grapple with an infusion of illegal immigration.

SPEAKER JOHNSON ADDRESSES CLAIMS FEMA DIVERTED FUNDS TO IMMIGRATION EFFORTS: ‘AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE DISGUSTED’

About $640 million currently goes to assist these towns beset by an influx of illegal migrants. But some lawmakers would like that to spike to as much as $3 billion next year.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., introduced legislation to halt the migrant assistance program. And Johnson blurred the line between FEMA disaster aid and migrants and the border.

“FEMA should be involved and the Federal Emergency Management Association. Their mission is to help people in times like this of natural disaster. Not to be engaged in using any pool of funding from any account for resettling illegal aliens who have come across the border,” said Johnson on Fox.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called the response to Hurricane Helene a “massive failure” at the federal level. (Getty Images)

Other Republicans believe this may be an opportunity to recalibrate spending overall. Keep in mind that many Republicans look askance at foreign aid to Ukraine.

“As an elected official, it’s our responsibility to put Americans first. Whether you’re in Florida, in my district or you’re anywhere in the union, I think that it’s important for us to prioritize Americans and restore hope and let them know they’re not forgotten,” said Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., on Fox.

But some Republicans compared issues with FEMA’s response to how the administration addresses other subjects.

KJP SLAMMED AFTER HURRICANE HELENE OVER MIXED MESSAGES ON WHETHER FEMA RESOURCES USED FOR MIGRANTS

“This administration seems to have no problem finding money when they want to spend it on their priorities. When they need hundreds of billions of dollars to pay off student loans for graduate students and gender studies programs, they somehow find it. When it’s trying to get helicopters to deliver food and water and cellular service and lifesaving medicine into these mountain valleys, they somehow can’t seem to find the money,” declared Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on NBC.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell castigated Republicans for suggesting FEMA was focused on other issues rather than the storms.

“It’s frankly ridiculous and just plain false. This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people,” said Criswell on ABC.

Hurricanes Helene and Milton are likely to leave both meteorological and electoral scars in their wake. (Travis Long/The News & Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Before leaving Washington, Congress green-lighted $20 billion for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) as part of the interim spending plan to avoid a government shutdown. But Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas muddled matters when he said FEMA had enough funds to respond to Helene for “immediate needs” but not enough to get through “the season.”

The “season” to which Mayorkas refers is the annual hurricane “season.” It stretches through Nov. 30. Note that Mayorkas made this remark when there was the potential for another storm, but Milton hadn’t yet formed in the Gulf of Mexico.

Some Republicans pounced on Mayorkas. But after considering the severity of Helene, it will likely draw down the DRF for “immediate needs.” The key phrase here is “immediate needs.” Milton will probably do the same. That’s why Congress must likely tackle disaster relief in at least two tranches when it returns to session in November. Lawmakers will need to refill the DRF. And the price tags will start to roll in for Helene and Milton. That’s to say nothing of outstanding disasters like Hurricane Beryl in Texas, tornadoes in Iowa, a typhoon on Guam and wildfires in Hawaii.

FEMA HAS FUNDS NEEDED FOR ‘IMMEDIATE RESPONSE AND RECOVERY,’ DESPITE MAYORKAS’ WARNING

However, Johnson is unwilling to summon lawmakers back to Washington to grapple with disasters.

“You don’t just send estimates to the federal government. You send specific needs and requests based upon the actual damages. And that takes some time, especially with storms of this magnitude. So Congress will do its job,” said Johnson on Fox.

So, lawmakers must first reload the DRF for future immediate needs, then mete out bigger chunks of change for Americans to cope with the impacts of Helene and Milton. The government funding deadline is Dec. 20. It’s possible that the latter chunk of funding is folded into spending measures around Christmas.

But as for the politics? The election is fast approaching. The storms could impact voting this fall. And while Helene and Milton will certainly leave a mark meteorologically, they will probably leave a mark electorally, too.

Anti-Israel protesters set up an encampment outside the home of a Jewish Democratic House member on the eve of the anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks, the congressman revealed on social media.

Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, posted on X throughout the evening of Oct. 6, announcing that a group of people with their faces covered congregated outside his house, prompting his family to get police escorts in order to exit and enter their home.

“A group of masked anti-Israel protesters assembled outside my home early Sunday morning and remained through the evening, forcing police to escort my family in and out of our house for safety,” the lawmaker declared in a post that included a photo of the group. “The protesters refuse to leave, setting up tents, cots, and sleeping bags in their encampment in the road, and are spending the night harassing my family outside our home. It’s not clear if or when they will leave,” he added in another tweet.

Landsman’s communications director told Fox News Digital via email that as of Monday morning, the individuals were still outside the congressman’s home in Cincinnati.

NEW DEMS ARE LASER-FOCUSED ON FIGHTING CRIME

Landsman noted that Monday marks the grim anniversary of the heinous Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack against Israel in which Hamas committed atrocities.

“On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the October 7th terror attacks, when Jews were brutally murdered and kidnapped, these people came to the home of a Jewish family at night, dressed in all black and fully masked,” the congressman said in a statement.

GOP HOUSE CANDIDATE FIRES BACK AFTER DEM OPPONENT ECHOES ‘WEIRD’ ATTACK LINE AGAINST JD VANCE

Rep. Greg Landsman is interviewed in his Longworth Building office on Nov. 3, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“Today, my daughter and I will be attending a service to bear witness to the atrocious terror attacks of October 7th. Meanwhile, these people will be outside of my house, in an attempt to intimidate my Jewish family every time we try to leave our home,” he continued. 

“They’ve done this to my staff and me for nearly a year, and now they’re doing it to my family and neighbors. I don’t think they have any boundaries at this point. Our family hopes they leave soon and protest in a more appropriate and less intrusive manner. We’re grateful to the Cincinnati Police Department for their ongoing efforts and work to keep us all safe,” the lawmaker said in the statement.

DEM REP ‘CLOSER AND CLOSER’ TO URGING BIDEN TO DROP OUT, WOULD BACK HARRIS NOMINATION OR OPEN CONVENTION

Rep. Greg Landsman speaks during a news conference at the US Capitol on March 30, 2023. (Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., decried the protest and urged his colleagues to do the same.

“On the anniversary of the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust, this is unacceptable intimidation of a Jewish member of Congress and his family,” Goldman wrote on X. “I call on all of my colleagues to condemn this conduct. This has no place in America,”

The Supreme Court refused Monday to hear appeals from ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft, which were asking to block California state labor lawsuits that seek back pay for tens of thousands of drivers.

Without comment, the justices turned down appeals from both companies. At issue, they said, was the scope of the arbitration agreements between drivers and the companies.

A state appeals court ruled last year that state labor officials are not bound by arbitration agreements which they did not sign or support.

In their appeal to the Supreme Court, lawyers for Uber and Lyft, joined by a coalition of California employers, contended the Federal Arbitration Act overrides state laws and blocks broad lawsuits seeking money for employees who had agreed to arbitrate claims as individuals. They said the case “represents California’s latest attempt to create a loophole” in the law.”

Four years ago, California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and Labor Commissioner Lilia Garcia-Brower sued the ride-hailing companies for the “misclassification of drivers as independent contractors” rather than as employees.

This left “workers without protections such as paid sick leave and reimbursement of drivers’ expenses, as well as overtime and minimum wages,” Garcia-Brower said at the time. The suit sought money “for unpaid wages and penalties owed to workers which will be distributed to all drivers who worked for Uber or Lyft during the time period covered by the lawsuits.”

The lawsuit continued even after voters approved Proposition 22 in 2020 to uphold the authority of companies to classify drivers as independent contractors.

Last year, the state appeals court in San Francisco ruled the state lawsuits may proceed because the state officials did not agree to be bound by the arbitration agreements.

“The people and the labor commissioner are not parties to the arbitration agreements invoked by Uber and Lyft,” said Justice Jon Streeter for the California court of appeals. He said the state officials are not suing on behalf of drivers, but instead enforcing the state’s labor laws.

“The relevant statutory schemes expressly authorize the people and the labor commissioner to bring the claims (and seek the relief) at issue here,” he said. “The public officials who brought these actions do not derive their authority from individual drivers but from their independent statutory authority to bring civil enforcement actions.”

In January, the state Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal. Uber and Lyft then asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in.

In recent years, the conservative high court has regularly clashed with California judges over arbitration and ruled for businesses that sought to limit lawsuits.

Two years ago, the justices struck down part of state law that authorized private attorneys to sue on behalf of a group of employees, even though they had agreed to be bound by individual arbitration.

The California Employment Law Council, which represents about 80 private employers in the state, had urged the court to hear the Uber case and rule that the state may not sidestep arbitration agreements.

“The California courts have been clear. They don’t like arbitration,” said Paul Grossman, a Los Angeles lawyer with the Paul Hastings firm who represents private employers.