In the presidential election, Donald Trump won North Carolina’s 16 electoral votes thanks to 2,898,423 voters who pulled the lever for him — with many believing that he would deliver billions of dollars of federal aid to help them recover from devastating Tropical Storm Helene.
On Friday, he told them — and the 2.7 million voters who chose Democrat Kamala Harris and millions more residents — to fend for themselves: His administration denied another of the state’s request for tens of millions of dollars in needed aid.
More than 100 people died as Helene tore through western North Carolina in September, destroying homes, businesses and roadways. The storm’s record-breaking devastation totaled $59.6 billion in damages and recovery needs. Recovery has been slow in parts of the region as some hard-hit mountain towns still appear ravaged by the storm nearly eight months later.
In the days immediately after the storm and before the election, Trump regularly criticized efforts by the Biden administration to help the state, and he often lied about the number of FEMA agents already on the ground and whether they were playing politics.
Trump claimed without evidence that the Biden administration and North Carolina’s Democratic governor were “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas.” And Trump adviser Stephen Miller said President Joe Biden “failed to evacuate or rescue” U.S. citizens, “just like you failed in Afghanistan.”
That led many voters to believe that Trump would bail them out. Instead, Trump has turned his back on them, with DOGE recommending the dissolution of FEMA.
The agency’s acting chief, David Richardson, announced plans to shift disaster recovery responsibilities to states for the upcoming hurricane season.
Gov. Mark Stein has called on the federal government to reform the agency but not to get rid of it, which he reiterated during his budget proposal announcement Monday.
In a letter to state officials, Richardson wrote that the state’s request for the federal government to pay for debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance for an additional 180 days under major disaster … is not warranted.”
Last fall, Biden approved major disaster declarations for Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina, allowing survivors to access funds and resources to jumpstart their recovery immediately. FEMA and other federal agencies, along with private businesses and nonprofit and faith-based organizations, responded to the disaster in at least seven states, from Florida to Virginia.
Biden approved more than $930 million for North Carolina’s Helene relief in 2024, which included $450 million for individual assistance (housing and other needs), $380 million for public assistance, and $100 million for emergency road and bridge repairs.
The Trump administration recently denied extending 100% federal cost sharing, shoving more costs on to the state.
Biden warned that Project 2025 would dismantle FEMA and the national weather services that warned residents of approaching storms. Trump disavowed any knowledge of Project 2025, but his administration is using as the playbook to destroy the federal government as the courts intervene.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today toNJ.com.
