President Donald Trump floated “getting rid” of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Friday as he visited western North Carolina to survey the damage and recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene.
Trump said he would be signing an executive order “fundamentally reforming … or maybe getting rid” of the agency.
“FEMA has been a very big disappointment,” he said during a briefing alongside North Carolina officials in Asheville. “They cost a tremendous amount of money. It’s very bureaucratic, it’s very slow.”
It’s not immediately clear what the scale or details of such a decision could look like. Asked by reporters to elaborate on the proposal, Trump said he would prefer for states to get direct payouts from the federal government rather than coordinating with FEMA.
“When you have a problem like this … whether it’s a Democrat or Republican governor, you want to use your state to fix it, not waste time calling FEMA, and then FEMA gets here and they don’t know the area,” Trump said. “They’ve never been to the area, and they want to give you rules that you’ve never heard about.”
Juneau individuals and households affected by a record glacial outburst flood last August were approved for more than $2.6 million in assistance by FEMA as of late November, according to the agency. A statement issued by FEMA at the time also noted “FEMA and the State of Alaska are meeting with the City and Borough of Juneau to identify eligible costs related to the disaster.”
Recovery efforts in western North Carolina were hampered by an unprecedented disaster situation, with widespread flooding and destroyed infrastructure isolating mountain communities. A rash of misinformation spread online — including by Trump — also distorted the process and scale of relief at the state and federal levels.
During his remarks Friday, Trump blasted the prior administration for its handling of the disaster, citing a separate case in Florida where a FEMA worker told responders to avoid homes with pro-Trump signs. He also repeated the false claim that FEMA money was diverted to housing for undocumented migrants.
“It doesn’t matter at this point, Biden did a bad job,” he said.
Trump said he was tapping Michael Whatley, the chair of the Republican National Committee who formerly headed the North Carolina GOP, to help lead relief efforts.
“If he does half as good a job for North Carolina as he did for my campaign, we’ll be very happy,” Trump said.
The president was joined at the briefing by North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, with whom the president said he would “have a very long and good relationship.”
In a statement, Stein thanked Trump for visiting, calling it a “positive signal” that his first visit was to North Carolina. He said he asked for $20 billion in additional relief, as well as another six months of full FEMA reimbursement.
The statement did not address Trump’s comments about “getting rid” of FEMA.
“Families, businesses, and communities are struggling and need these urgent resources to help them rebuild,” Stein said. “I look forward to working with the Trump Administration in the coming weeks and months to get people what they need to rebuild and recover.”
Also present were First Lady Melania Trump, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, North Carolina U.S. Reps. Chuck Edwards, Tim Moore and Virginia Foxx, North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall, and a group of state lawmakers.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross of Wake County pushed back on Trump’s proposal to “get rid” of FEMA on social media.
“FEMA has been a crucial partner in our fight to recover from Hurricane Helene,” Ross wrote on social media. “I appreciate President Trump’s concern about western NC, but eliminating FEMA would be a disaster for our state.”
The Asheville visit is Trump’s first trip outside Washington since being sworn in for his second term. It was followed by a trip to fire-stricken Los Angeles.
• Galen Bacharier covers North Carolina politics and government for NC Newsline. NC Newsline is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization. This article originally appeared online at alaskabeacon.com. Alaska Beacon, an affiliate of States Newsroom, is an independent, nonpartisan news organization focused on connecting Alaskans to their state government. A reference to FEMA assistance specific to Juneau was added by Juneau Empire staff.
