In a rare moment of working together across party lines, Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican from Florida and member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, has praised US President Joe Biden for his response to recent natural disasters. Luna, whose district was hit hard by Hurricane Milton, said she was surprised to receive a call from the president last week, asking how she and her constituents were doing.
“I did not expect that,” Luna told Fox News Digital. “I talked to him on the phone for about 10 minutes. The first thing he asked me was what I needed for my constituents, and we discussed the issues with FEMA.”
Luna, a first-term congresswoman known for her strong criticism of the Biden administration, met with the president in person when he visited Florida to assess the storm damage. She described their discussion as “extensive,” focusing on disaster aid reforms and the response from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Luna acknowledged the Biden administration and its efforts in handling the situation. “I have obviously been very critical of President Biden in the past, but him stepping in and taking control to assist for the right reasons was honestly kind of shocking for me,” she said.
Their conversations covered Florida’s recovery and the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Georgia and North Carolina. Luna advocated for changes to the National Flood Insurance Program and pushed for improvements in FEMA’s response, particularly regarding debris clearance. She also criticised FEMA’s $750 payment to disaster survivors as insufficient. “Biden agreed and said it was a ‘bunch of malarkey,’ which is 100% true,” Luna said.
Despite her praise for the federal response, Luna remains committed to holding FEMA accountable, while joining a bipartisan group of lawmakers calling for an early emergency session of Congress to address disaster relief funding. However, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has indicated that Congress will not reconvene until after Election Day.
