It’s not every day you hear about a member of the House Freedom Caucus working closely with President Joe Biden, but national crises have a way of creating unexpected partnerships. In a surprising turn of events, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), a staunch conservative and frequent critic of the Biden administration, had a series of productive conversations with the president following the devastation of Hurricane Milton, which struck her district hard last week.
Luna told Fox News Digital that she was not anticipating a phone call from the president late last week, but when her phone rang with a Washington, D.C.-based number, she picked up to hear Biden on the other end. The conversation, which lasted about ten minutes, began with Biden asking her about the needs of her constituents and how her district had fared during the storm. From there, they dove into a discussion about FEMA’s disaster relief efforts.
The congresswoman, known for her fiery critiques of the Biden administration, found herself agreeing with the president’s assessment that FEMA’s initial $750 upfront payment to disaster survivors was woefully inadequate. Luna said Biden called the amount “a bunch of malarkey”—a phrase synonymous with his folksy charm—and agreed that more needed to be done.
The two later met in person when Biden surveyed the storm damage in Florida, where they had an extensive conversation about disaster relief reforms. Despite Luna’s previous antagonism toward the administration, she expressed surprise at Biden’s hands-on approach. “I have obviously been very critical of President Biden in the past,” she said, “but I will say that him stepping in and taking control of the situation to assist for the right reasons was very honestly kind of shocking for me.”
Their discussions extended beyond immediate disaster relief, touching on broader reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which Luna argued has been outdated since its inception in the 1960s. The congresswoman also advocated for holding cities accountable for delayed debris removal post-storm, a point she made clear during her meetings with both Biden and FEMA officials.
Luna’s collaboration with Biden, and her measured praise for his response, stands in stark contrast to the typically partisan nature of post-disaster politics. Republicans have not shied away from criticizing the administration’s handling of disaster relief efforts, but Luna’s acknowledgment that Biden was stepping up to the plate added a rare bipartisan moment to the mix.
Other Republican leaders, such as the governors of South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, also expressed support for the administration’s swift actions in response to recent storms, marking a broader trend of unexpected praise for Biden from GOP officials.
However, not all Republican lawmakers are on board with the call for Congress to return early for an emergency session to address disaster funding, despite bipartisan support for it. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has repeatedly signaled that he does not believe the House needs to reconvene before Election Day, arguing that the $20 billion Congress allocated to FEMA last month should cover the immediate needs.
Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.), whose district was also hit hard by Hurricane Helene, echoed Johnson’s position, accusing the Biden administration of using calls for an early session as a distraction from their “inept reaction” to disaster relief.
