AGRICULTURE/MIKE PENCE/NATURAL DISASTERS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Rep. Austin Scott was visibly distressed Thursday [5-9-19] as he read aloud part of a speech Vice President Mike Pence made to farmers in his home state of Georgia last fall, less than two weeks after Hurricane Michael cut a trail of devastation. ‘Let me say to all the farmers gathered here today in the wake of Hurricane Michael: We are with you, and we will stay with you until we rebuild and recover better than ever before.’ Seven months later, the administration is undercutting Pence’s pledge to farmers as the White House and Congress wrangle over a $17 billion disaster aid package for areas hit by recent hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes and flooding, Scott said during a House Agriculture subcommittee hearing. The Georgia Republican, who helped secure about $3 billion for agriculture in House disaster legislation, leveled much of his criticism at President Donald Trump’s White House. It was a rare rebuke of the administration from a Republican congressman, most of whom have been in lockstep with the president’s policies.”
–Catherine Boudreau, “Georgia Republican blasts White House over disaster aid deadlock,” Politico, May 9, 2019 10:16 pm