An image on X claims to show a post from Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz as related to Hurricane Helene.

Call out their lies pic.twitter.com/LNtiqvB5E8

— Change The System 🪷💙 (@ChangeTheSyst14) October 1, 2024

Verdict: Misleading

The post is two years old and refers to Hurricane Ian, not Hurricane Helene.

Fact Check:

Hurricane Helene has claimed the title of the deadliest land hurricane since 2005, killing more than 230 people and wiping out entire towns, per ABC News.

On Sept. 30, a post was shared to X with the caption, “Call out their lies.” It shows a post from Gaetz and a reply from Democratic Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly, implying that the posts are recent.

This claim is misleading. The image captures a post from Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who called for the federal government to provide aid to “my fellow Florida Man in need of grave assistance,” referring to victims of natural disaster.  The post is from Gaetz added a plea for Congress to provide “half of what you sent Ukraine.” The post is dated Oct. 2, 2022.

Dear Congress:

On behalf of my fellow Florida Man in grave need of assistance….

Just send us like half of what you sent Ukraine.

Signed,

Your Fellow Americans

— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) October 2, 2022

The call was made amid the devastation from Hurricane Ian, which tore through Florida in 2022, almost exactly two years before the ongoing disaster of Hurricane Helene. Connolly replied to Gaetz’s post, saying that Congress had “passed a bill” which “included $18.8 billion for FEMA’s hurricane response.” He added that “every Florida Republican, including Matt Gaetz, voted no” on the proposal. This post is also dated Oct. 2, 2022.

We passed a bill on Friday that included $18.8 billion for FEMA’s hurricane response.

Every Florida Republican, including Matt Gaetz, voted no. https://t.co/N7uxZScWHM

— Rep. Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) October 2, 2022

The original post from Gaetz came after he voted against a budget bill with several different relief provisions, Newsweek reported at the time. As noted by Politico, the controversial package included disaster relief funds for Americans as well as over $12 billion to support Ukraine.

Although the resurfaced posts were from the time of Hurricane Ian, Gaetz did vote against a recent bill tied to FEMA funding. His current concern about FEMA assistance for victims of Hurricane Helene is related to reports that money from the federal aid program was inappropriately used to support illegal immigrants.

According to an Oct. 4 press release from Gaetz’s office, whistleblowers have revealed that “FEMA has severe mismanagement issues,” resulting in “federal, state, and local responders on the ground [left] to assist with Hurricane Helene recovery efforts without deployment orders.” The reports followed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) having “redirected  $1.4 billion of taxpayer dollars on illegal aliens.” (RELATED: FACT CHECK: Is FEMA Confiscating Supplies and Halting Relief Efforts for Hurricane Helene Victims?)

Gaetz submitted a letter demanding an explanation from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who had just declared that FEMA “does not have enough funds to make it through the [hurricane] season,” per the Associated Press. FEMA also recently published information about the program in an effort to debunk rumors circulating about the relief program.