Biden joins growing calls for Congress to return to pass certain hurricane relief
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Thursday joined growing calls from Democrats and even one Republican to bring Congress back to pass certain additional disaster aid funding in the wake of the devastation in southeastern states caused by back-to-back hurricanes.
Biden told reporters that the Small Business Administration is “pretty right at the edge now,” and it would take “several billion dollars” to help businesses recover in the affected states.
“I think that Congress should be coming back and moving on emergency needs immediately,” he said, but notably did not say the same about Federal Emergency Management Agency funding before Election Day.
Former President Donald Trump has falsely claimed FEMA has run out of disaster funds because the money was “stolen” to use instead to help migrants, a claim the White House has strongly denied, saying the money comes from separate funding “spigots.”
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas insisted Thursday that FEMA has enough disaster funding to handle the immediate needs from Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton and related tornado damage.
Even as raised the dire need for more SBA funding, Biden said he has not reached out to House Speaker Mike Johnson about bringing House lawmakers back to Washington.
While Johnson has committed to passing relief after the election, he has resisted pressure from Democrats, especially, to bring the House back before Election Day, explaining it will take time for states to assess the need.
“Congress will provide,” Johnson promised during an interview this past weekend on “Fox News Sunday.” “We will help people in these disaster-prone areas. It’s an appropriate role for the federal government, and you’ll have bipartisan support for that, and it’ll all happen in due time, and we’ll get that job done. There shouldn’t be any concern about that.”
There are similar calls from lawmakers for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to reconvene the upper chamber.
Dozens of House Democrats sent a letter to Johnson making their case as he toured damage in western North Carolina on Wednesday with Republican Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd and GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards.
“Recent legislation has provided initial relief funds, yet these provisions fall critically short of what will be necessary to address the scale of destruction and the recovery needs for Fiscal Year 2025. We, therefore, urge you to immediately reconvene the US House of Representatives so that it can pass robust disaster relief funding,” the letter, signed by 63 Democrats, said.
The speaker’s office declined to comment to ABC News directly on the letter, instead referring to Johnson’s public comments on the topic.
Democrats are not alone in their request.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican who evacuated her home in Pinellas County, also wants Johnson to bring lawmakers back for a special session.
Luna, who has been spreading misinformation about FEMA funding, posted a statement on X claiming that additional funding would be approved.
“If Congress goes into a special session we can get it passed immediately,” she said.
Mayorkas also stressed the gravity of the situation following a tour of western North Carolina on Thursday.
Although he said that FEMA has the funding to handle hurricanes Helene and Milton and related tornadoes, he said the federal flood insurance program is in the red.
“We are working on a continuing resolution that is not stable footing for the work that we do in disaster response. And so that is why I underscore the need for Congress to act swiftly upon its return,” Mayorkas said.
(WASHINGTON) — The FBI and other U.S. intelligence agencies released findings that Iranian hackers have continued efforts to influence the 2024 presidential election, with “stolen” information from former President Donald Trump’s campaign being sent to individuals associated with President Joe Biden’s campaign before he left the race.
“Iranian malicious cyber actors in late June and early July sent unsolicited emails to individuals then associated with President Biden’s campaign that contained an excerpt taken from stolen, non-public material from former President Trump’s campaign as text in the emails,” U.S. intelligence agencies said in a statement Wednesday.
“There is currently no information indicating those recipients replied,” investigators said.
Additionally, the FBI found that the Iranian government has “continued their efforts” to send “stolen” campaign materials to media organizations.
In June, Iran launched a phishing campaign against the then Biden campaign and Trump campaign — with the Trump campaign operation getting internal campaign materials.
In mid-August, U.S. intelligence agencies — the FBI, CISA and ODNI — warned of this effort, and as of now, the effort still exists, according to the agencies.
“This malicious cyber activity is the latest example of Iran’s multi-pronged approach, as noted in the joint August statement, to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our electoral process,” investigators said.
“As the lead for threat response, the FBI has been tracking this activity, has been in contact with the victims, and will continue to investigate and gather information in order to pursue and disrupt the threat actors responsible. Foreign actors are increasing their election influence activities as we approach November,” investigators said.
On Wednesday, Trump’s campaign released a statement, calling for more information from the Biden-Harris administration about the intelligence agencies’ findings.
“Kamala and Biden must come clean on whether they used the hacked material given to them by the Iranians to hurt President Trump. What did they know and when did they know it?” Karoline Leavitt, Trump Campaign National Press Secretary, said in a statement.
Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson Morgan Finkelstein said in a statement, “We have cooperated with the appropriate law enforcement authorities since we were made aware that individuals associated with the then-Biden campaign were among the intended victims of this foreign influence operation.”
“We’re not aware of any material being sent directly to the campaign; a few individuals were targeted on their personal emails with what looked like a spam or phishing attempt,” Finkelstein added. “We condemn in the strongest terms any effort by foreign actors to interfere in U.S. elections including this unwelcome and unacceptable malicious activity.”
Intelligence agencies have assessed Russia, China and Iran as the biggest peddlers of influence operations in 2024.
In a statement Wednesday, Iran’s Mission to the United Nations called the intelligence agencies’ findings “fundamentally unfounded, and wholly inadmissible.”
“The Islamic Republic of Iran does not engage in the internal uproars or electoral controversies of the United States,” the statement said.
(WASHINGTON) — With about six weeks until Election Day, former President Donald Trump will deliver remarks on the tax code and U.S. manufacturing in battleground Georgia on Tuesday.
Vice President Kamala Harris has her own economic speech scheduled for Wednesday in Pennsylvania, another critical swing state. Later this week, she will travel to Arizona for some campaign events and to visit the southern border, according to a source familia with her plans.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Trump, in Georgia, hits on economy, immigration and more
In remarks in battleground Georgia focused on the economy and the tax code, Trump said dealing with immigration is first step in his economic plan.
In Savannah, Trump again said migrants with legal protected status in Springfield, Ohio, need to be deported and repeated his discriminatory and false argument that undocumented immigrants were stealing jobs from Black and Hispanic communities. He went on to call on local officials to “move the people back to the country from which they came.”
Trump spent much of his speech focused on increasing domestic production by tariffing other countries, telling Georgians they soon would be “stealing” jobs from other countries.
“Vote for Trump, and you will see a mass exodus of manufacturing from China to Pennsylvania, from Korea to North Carolina, from Germany to right here in Georgia, they’re going to come to Georgia, from Germany and a lot of other places,” he claimed.
“I’m outlining today, not only will we stop our businesses from leaving for foreign lands, but under my leadership, we’re going to take other countries’ jobs. Did you ever hear that expression before? Have you ever heard that? ‘We’re going to take other countries’ jobs.’ It’s never been stated before. We’re going to take their factories,” Trump claimed.
The former president also touched on Ukraine, just hours after President Joe Biden urged world leaders gathered at the United Nations General Assembly to never “waver” in support for Ukraine.
“I think that we’re stuck in that war unless I’m president. I’ll get it done. I’ll get it negotiated,” Trump claimed — a campaign pledge he often repeats but offers no specifics on how to accomplish.
Trump then seemingly praised Russia.
“That’s what they do, is they fight wars,” he said. “As somebody told me the other day, they beat Hitler, they beat Napoleon. That’s what they do. They fight and it’s not pleasant.”
ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim and Kelsey Walsh
Nebraska governor won’t call special session to change electoral votes system
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen released a statement Tuesday confirming he has “no plans” to call a special session before the November general election — meaning that the Republican-led effort to change the state electoral college to winner-take-all is tabled, for now.
“My team and I have worked relentlessly to secure a filibuster-proof 33-vote majority to get winner-take-all passed before the November election,” Pillen said. “Given everything at stake for Nebraska and our country, we have left every inch on the field to get this done.”
“Unfortunately, we could not persuade 33 state senators,” he added.
Pillen specifically cited opposition from state Sen. Mike McDonnell, who on Monday said he would not support such a change before the 2024 election.
The switch would have likely benefitted Trump and made the electoral map more difficult for Harris.
-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd and Oren Oppenheim
Trump attacks Harris’ plan to visit the border
Trump is now weighing in on Harris’ plans to visit the southern border this Friday in Arizona, labelling the visit as “political” and accusing her of attempting to “con the public” of her border record.
“After almost four years, Border Czar Kamala Harris has decided, for political reasons, that it’s time for her to go to our broken Southern Border. What a disgrace that she waited so long,” Trump wrote on his social media, repeating his disparaging rhetoric on migrants.
While Harris has been to the southern border, the trip marks her first visit since lauched her campaign at the end of July.
Trump has made immigration central to his 2024 campaign, pledging mass deportations and a border shutdown among other hard-line policies. He visited the border last month, the same day Harris formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president.
ABC News’ Soorin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh
Harris planning a visit to southern border this week: Source
Vice President Harris is planning to visit the southern border during her visit to Arizona on Friday, according to a source familiar.
This would be Harris’ first visit to the southern border since she jumped to the top of the ticket at the end of July.
Immigration has been a big issue in the 2024 race, with Donald Trump and Republicans inaccurately calling Harris the “border czar” and blaming her for the border crisis. Harris, in turn, argues that Trump and Republicans are at fault for killing the bipartisan border bill earlier this year.
Harris has overseen the Biden administration’s efforts to address the root causes of migration as vice president, and visited the border in 2021, after she came under fire for not having done so.
Trump expected to return to Butler for a rally on Oct. 5: Sources
Trump is expected to return to Butler, Pennsylvania, the city of his first assassination attempt, next Saturday for a rally, according to multiple sources familiar with his plans.
The rally is scheduled for Oct. 5.
Trump has long promised to return to Butler to honor the victims who died at his July rally.
“I WILL BE GOING BACK TO BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA, FOR A BIG AND BEAUTIFUL RALLY, HONORING THE SOUL OF OUR BELOVED FIREFIGHTING HERO, COREY, AND THOSE BRAVE PATRIOTS INJURED TWO WEEKS AGO. WHAT A DAY IT WILL BE — FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT! STAY TUNED FOR DETAILS,” Trump wrote on his social media platform in July.
NBC News was first to report the news.
ABC News’ Katherine Faulders, Lalee Ibssa, Kesley Walsh and Soorin Kim
Harris won’t attend the Al Smith dinner, a presidential campaign staple
Vice President Harris will not attend the Al Smith dinner next month in New York, breaking with tradition of major party nominees sharing laughs at the benefit dinner, and will instead be on the campaign trail, a campaign official confirmed to ABC News.
“She is going to be campaigning in a battleground state that day, and the campaign wants to maximize her time in the battlegrounds this close to the election,” the official said.
The dinner, which benefits Catholic Charities, is scheduled for Oct. 17. It has become a traditional stop on the presidential campaign trail, with both the Republican and Democratic nominees attending and delivering remarks full of roasts. In recent years, both nominees attended the gala, including in 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020. (The latter was virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic.)
The official also added that Harris’ team informed the dinner’s organizers she would be absent, but was willing to attend in a later year as president.
ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabrielle Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie
Melania Trump to sit for her 1st interview of 2024 election cycle
Former first lady Melania Trump will sit down for her first interview of the 2024 election cycle with Fox News’ Ainsley Earhardt as she continues to promote her new book.
The interview is set to air on Thursday, Fox announced on Monday.
While Melania Trump has remained relatively quiet this campaign cycle, mainly appearing with the former president at closed-door events, she has been more active online recently as she launches her forthcoming memoir, “Melania.”
Her book is scheduled to be released on Oct. 8. Her website describes it in part as “the powerful and inspiring story of a woman who has defined personal excellence, overcome adversity, and carved her own path.”
ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim and Kelsey Walsh
Trump again says it’s too late for another debate amid challenges from Harris
Trump is again ruling out another debate against Harris, arguing it would be “a very bad thing” for the country.
“Well, I’ve already done two debates, and they, you know, we’re good, but to do a third one, everybody’s voting now, and it’s very late to be doing a third debate,” Trump told Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin in a phone conversation that aired Monday morning.
Harris said over the weekend she accepted an offer from CNN for a debate on Oct. 23.
Her team has also noted that there have been presidential debates in years past in the final weeks before Election Day.
“The final 2020 debate was October 22,” the Harris campaign wrote on X. “The proposed CNN debate is October 23.”
Trump also debated Hillary Clinton for a third time around the same timeframe: Oct. 19, 2016.
Trump slightly leads in Arizona, about even in North Carolina: Polls
A set of New York Times/Siena College polls found Trump slightly leads Harris in Arizona and they are about evenly matched in North Carolina.
Among likely voters in Arizona, Trump leads Harris 50% to 45% in a head-to-head matchup. In a six-way matchup with other candidates, Trump still leads Harris 48% to 43%.
In North Carolina, Trump also leads Harris among likely voters 49% to 47%. He also leads by 2 percentage points in a six-way matchup. The lead, however, is within the poll’s margin of error.
Arizona and North Carolina are considered crucial battlegrounds this election, along with Georgia. According to 538’s polling average, Trump is ahead slightly in each of the three Sun Belt states.
(WASHINGTON) — Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently sought a meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris, according to multiple people familiar with the outreach.
Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, Kennedy’s campaign manager, told ABC News that she and Kennedy reached out to the Harris team but have yet to hear back.
The outreach was the latest in a monthslong and fruitless effort by the Kennedy campaign to speak with top Democrats, including President Joe Biden when he sat atop the Democratic ticket, Fox Kennedy told ABC.
However, the most recent attempts to meet with Harris appear to have carried extra meaning: the Washington Post reported Wednesday that Kennedy wanted to discuss the possibility of serving in Harris’ cabinet in exchange for an endorsement to help her over the finish line this fall.
Fox Kennedy did not dispute the details of the story and told ABC News, “Bobby has always been willing to meet with both parties to discuss the possibility of a unity government.”
However, on Thursday morning, Kennedy posted on X that he has “no plans to endorse Kamala Harris for President.”
“I do have plans to defeat her,” he added at the end of a post that included specific criticisms of Harris and the Democratic Party.
Democrats on Wednesday all but dismissed the possibility of working out a deal with Kennedy, whose poll numbers have steadily dipped throughout the summer.
“No one has any intention of negotiating with a MAGA-funded fringe candidate who has sought out a job with Donald Trump in exchange for an endorsement,” said Lis Smith, an advisor to the Democratic National Committee.
Kennedy has met multiple times with Republican nominee Donald Trump, including an in-person meeting in Milwaukee last month where the men discussed possible roles for Kennedy in a Trump administration, as ABC News previously reported.