Vice President JD Vance returned to Damascus Monday afternoon and said the town’s progress in recovering from last September’s Hurricane Helene damage is being hindered by slow federal bureaucracy.

Vance slammed FEMA for incompetence Monday in Damascus, Virginia, a town near the Tennessee border which was devastated by Hurricane Helene.

The vice president met with the governor for a roundtable on recovery efforts, where he called for change to the federal emergency response to natural disasters.

DAMASCUS, Va. – Vice President Vance visited Damascus in Southwest Virginia. The Vice President was in Damascus on Monday to survey recovery efforts in regard to Hurricane Helene, which hit many regions of Appalachia particularly hard. He made a visit to Damascus last October as well, and held a campaign rally in Radford in July 2024.

Vice President JD Vance discussed several political topics in a combative interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation" host Margaret Brennan Sunday morning. A memo asked agencies to provide a justification for providing relocation benefits to employees who live more than 50 miles from worksites.

In his first domestic trip after last week’s inauguration, Vice President JD Vance vowed to fight through Washington bureaucracy to help residents of Damascus, Virginia, recover from last year’s devastating Hurricane Helene.

In his first official trip since becoming Vice President, JD Vance was in our region to tour the leftover damage from Hurricane Helene.