Ahead of Kamala Harris’ scheduled visit to North Carolina today, the Federal Emergency Management Agency reported that more than $110 million in federal aid has been distributed for Hurricane Helen recovery efforts.
Harris will be briefed by FEMA Administrator DeAnne Criswell today before assessing the damage in North Carolina. Harris will make her first visit to a humanitarian crisis site as vice president this week, a role normally held by President Biden, who is scheduled to visit Camp David this weekend instead.
“I want to personally see the extraordinary devastation,” Harris said this week.
For more information on the damage caused by Hurricane Helen, see Richard Luscombe’s report and Rebecca Solnit’s commentary in the Guardian.
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With Election Day just a month away, Democrats are growing concerned about Kamala Harris’ relatively light campaign schedule, especially as President Trump draws crowds to rallies like today, Politico reports. Ta.
According to Politico, Harris has spent more than a third of the days since the Democratic National Convention receiving briefings and holding internal meetings. Of the remaining days, she spent just over half organizing rallies and other public campaign events. Since the convention, the vice president has spent about half of his days in Washington, rather than campaigning in battleground states.
The news comes as The Washington Post reported that the Harris campaign is spending nearly three times as much as the Trump campaign as the candidates remain close.
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Updated to 11.39 EDT
As the Trump and Harris campaigns gear up for the final month of campaigning before Election Day, including high-profile rallies like today’s in Butler, Pennsylvania, the Secret Service has announced that ”, NBC News reported.
More than a dozen current and former U.S. Secret Service employees told NBC News that the agency is at “breaking point” due to increased workload and lack of sufficient staffing.
“I love my agency, but they are trying to set up a new case.” https://t.co/Ts1vrOktrK
— Sarah Fitzpatrick (@S_Fitzpatrick) October 5, 2024
More than a dozen current and former Secret Service employees told NBC News that mistakes like the one in Butler, when a gunman opened fire on President Trump on July 13, are due to understaffing and workload. The increase is said to be a contributing factor.
“There’s a huge security risk because we already have agents who are burnt out and have even less time to come up with a solid security plan and sort out all their assets,” an active agent told NBC.
“I love my office, but they are trying to set up new cases,” said one former agent.
Both current and former employees told NBC they fear the agency will see a mass exodus of employees over the next 18 months.
For more information on recent Secret Service failures, see Robert Tait and Ed Helmore’s report in the Guardian.
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Updated to 11.31 EDT
Hours before President Trump was scheduled to speak in Butler, Pennsylvania tonight, reporters at the rally reported a large and enthusiastic crowd.
The procession at President Trump’s rally took place seven hours before he was scheduled to speak, at the same venue where an assassination attempt took place in July in Butler, Pennsylvania. pic.twitter.com/gkizBto4zm
— Kate Sullivan (@KateSullivanDC) October 5, 2024
Trump’s campaign is touting the rally as a return to “the very same situation where (Trump) was shot at by democracy less than three months ago.”
“I think we’re in a sacred position today,” the Pennsylvania voter told Fox News.
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Updated to EDT 11.29
Good morning, readers of the US Politics Blog. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are touring the country this weekend, and their representatives will be visiting as well. Perhaps most notably, President Trump is scheduled to return to Butler, Pennsylvania, today. There, less than three months ago, a gunman tried to assassinate President Trump. He will be joined by the family of rallygoer Corey Comperatore, who was shot and killed at a rally in July.
Meanwhile, the vice president is visiting North Carolina today, where Hurricane Helen has destroyed much of the state and killed at least 200 people. Harris will be briefed on recovery efforts and provide an update on federal actions to support emergency response.
Here’s what else is going on:
The Trump campaign has announced a tour of Georgia over the weekend, with plans to visit three locations in the state today and end in Atlanta.
Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are headed to Camp David and plan to stay there over the weekend.
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