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Montana National Guard troops are stationed around the Yellowstone area, where they say they rescued dozens of people from severe flooding this week and took passengers on devastated roads. The FEMA administrator is now in the state monitoring the destruction. Montana Red Cross officials run evacuation centers in the area.
But one key figure is out of place in this historic disaster: Montana Governor Greg Gianforte (right).
Gianforte’s office said he left for a personal trip abroad with his wife before torrential rains flooded southwestern Montana, washed away bridges, swept buildings into stormy rivers and closed entrances to Yellowstone National Park, the region’s premier tourist attraction. and a pillar of its summer economy. A spokeswoman for Gianforte declined to reveal his whereabouts or specify when the Republican would return, saying only in a statement Wednesday that he “will return as soon as possible and as soon as possible.”
In a statement Thursday, Gianforte said he had “provided” a major disaster declaration from President Biden, which the governor said would provide federal aid to “further help our communities respond to the severe floods, recover from and restore. ” The statement did not mention the governor’s location or expected return date.
Gianforte’s spokesman, Brooke Stroke, did not provide further details in response to a request for comment. But NBC Montana reported that Gianforte’s office said he would return to the state on Thursday night. Janforte’s last public appearance in the state took place last Friday during the opening of the innovation campus of the State University of Montana, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported.
Gianforte’s absence has sparked speculation and some discontent on social media, with some critics comparing him to Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), Who left the country after Lone Star suffered a major power crisis in 2021. Unlike However, Cruz left Gianforte before the flood
“Where in the world is @GovGianforte?” The Montana Democratic Party tweeted. “It’s high time you came home.”
Instead of Gianforte, his deputy, Lieutenant Governor Kristen Juras, signed a nationwide disaster declaration on Wednesday, as well as a letter to the White House demanding a presidential declaration for a major disaster. The letter, which cites Montana’s need for federal aid to repair infrastructure and other urgent needs, called Juras a “current governor.”
Juras also met with state and local officials for a coordinated disaster response. On Thursday morning, she flew over the flood-affected areas with FEMA administrator Dean Chriswell, the federal agency said.
Although he disappeared from the scene, Gianforte introduced himself on Twitter as an active response to the floods. On Wednesday, he said he was “closely monitoring the floods in the Flathead Valley and Miles City” and “working with local authorities”. Earlier in the day, he tweeted that he had talked to the chief executive of the region’s main electricity supplier to restore electricity in flooded areas and that he had spoken that morning to officials involved in the country’s disaster response.
Most of the answers ranged from unimpressive to angry.
“You owe an answer to every Montana resident, where you are and why,” read one response, “regardless of disaster.”
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