Harris Visits Georgia After Hurricane Helene, Promising Federal Help

Vice President Kamala Harris surveyed damage from Hurricane Helene on Wednesday in Georgia, promising residents that the federal government was rushing to help with the recovery.

“The president and I have been paying close attention from the beginning to what we need to do to make sure the federal resources hit the ground as quickly as possible,” Ms. Harris said, adding, “That work has been happening.”

Standing in front of a house covered in fallen trees in the Meadowbrook neighborhood of Augusta, Ga., Ms. Harris announced that the federal government would cover 100 percent of the costs of debris removal and other emergency protective measures for three months to help the state recover. She described how much of the community did not have power, with many lacking access to water, and how she had met one woman who lost her husband. She called the damage “extraordinary” and the loss of life “particularly devastating.”

Ms. Harris also met with local officials and received a briefing on recovery efforts, during which she praised emergency responders who were working even amid their own personal struggles, telling them she was “here to thank you and to listen.” She helped hand out food and snacks at a community center that had been turned into a shelter.

Her visit to the battleground state came as she has confronted an extraordinary confluence of political headwinds this week, including a widening conflict in the Middle East and a historic labor strike. The developments have forced her to balance the duties of being second-in-command while also projecting strength as the potential next commander in chief.

Ms. Harris’s visit to Georgia replaced plans for a campaign bus tour in Pennsylvania with her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of