The House canceled votes on Friday to allow members to return home ahead of Hurricane Florence, which is barreling toward the East Coast and is expected to make landfall early Friday morning.
Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said the House will gavel out after votes this afternoon, “so members can return to their districts.” In doing so, the House will follow in the footsteps of the Senate, which left town Wednesday for the week.
Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., warned residents to “listen to your local officials” and “follow all emergency orders.”
“Congress stands ready to assist people in these affected areas in any way that we can,” he said.
The hurricane is forecast to dump several feet of rain on North Carolina and South Carolina after lashing the coast with 80 mph winds. The storm is expected to stall over the Carolinas, which accounts for the expectations of massive amounts of rain and flooding.
