By Trevor Hunnicutt
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Vice President Kamala Harris will take part on Monday in briefings on the federal response to Hurricane Helene, cutting short a campaign trip as she plans a visit to the storm-ravaged southeastern United States.
Harris is flying back to Washington earlier than planned from Las Vegas, Nevada, where she was on a presidential campaign trip, to take part in briefings at the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The change in plans comes after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was critical of the Democrat for not being more involved in the disaster response and is making his own visit to the region.
Winds, rain and storm surge from the storm killed at least 90 people in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia, while millions more faced power outages and destroyed roads.
Harris was briefed on Sunday on the federal storm response as she traveled aboard Air Force Two to campaign stops in the Western United States, where she was raising money in California and rallying voters in the competitive Nov. 5 election state of Nevada.
She also spoke with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and reached out to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp to discuss their needs, according to the official who declined to be identified.
Harris had initially planned campaign stops in the Las Vegas area but changed those plans to return earlier to Washington.
The Democratic presidential candidate also plans to travel to the storm-hit region “as soon as it is possible without disrupting emergency response operations,” the official said. It was not immediately planned when or where she would go.
North Carolina and Georgia are both among the more hotly contested states in the 2024 race between Harris and Trump.
Trump is visiting Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday to receive a briefing on storm damage and “facilitate the distribution of relief supplies,” his campaign said.
Harris’ campaign has announced campaign stops in the Pennsylvania and Michigan on Wednesday and Friday, respectively. Vice presidential candidates Tim Walz and JD Vance will debate on Tuesday.
More than 3,300 federal personnel are deployed as part of the hurricane response, including search and rescue efforts and restoring power, Biden administration officials have said.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Kim Coghill)
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