President Donald Trump said he plans to rework the federal emergency management agency as North Carolina is still recovering from Hurricane Helena — more than 120 days after the storm hit the state.
“I will also sign an executive order to begin the process of fundamental reform and Repeating FEMAor maybe get rid of FEMA,” Trump told reporters in North Carolina on Friday morning. I think, frankly, FEMA is no good.”
Trump also promised that his administration would step in and help North Carolina repair the damage quickly, promising to “do a good job” for the state.
“We’re going to fix it and we’re going to fix it as quickly as possible,” Trump said. “It’s a huge amount of damage. FEMA really failed us. Bring the country down. And I don’t know if it’s Biden’s fault or whose fault it is, but we’re going to take over. We’re going to do a good job.”
Trump also said he would like states to take more responsibility when disasters strike, arguing that those familiar with the state are better equipped to provide disaster response and relief.
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An aerial view of destroyed and damaged buildings after the Oct. 8 flooding of Hurricane Helena in Bat Cave, NC (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Trump also promised to work with three lawmakers whose districts were affected Hurricane Helenaclaiming that FEMA is not “on the ball” in helping North Carolina after the hurricane.
“So we’re going to do something about FEMA, which I think most people agree on [with]”Trump said.” I would like to see states take care of disasters, let the state take care of tornadoes and hurricanes and all the other things that happen. And I think you will find it much cheaper. You’ll do it in less than half the time, and you’ll get a much faster response. “
So far, the US Army Corps of Engineers says only half of Hurricane Helene debris recovery is complete. In addition, thousands of families in North Carolina are staying in FEMA hotels under the bill Transitional assistance (TSA) program.
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Photo of Hurricane Helena Aftermath provided to Fox News Digital by the Office of Congresswoman Kat Cammack. (Office of Congresswoman Kat Cammack)
As these families neared a late January deadline to remove them from the hotel, FEMA announced this week that it had extended the deadline to May 26. In total, more than 3,000 families met the right to extend the program.
“It was horrible the way we were allowed to do makeup and we’re going to fix that,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday before leaving for North Carolina. “It should have been done months ago since the hurricane that happened almost four months ago. North Carolina was treated very poorly, so we’re stopping there.”
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U.S. President Donald Trump leaves for the Air Force as he leaves for North Carolina at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., January 24, 2025. (Leah Millis/Reuters)
Trump said in an exclusive interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Wednesday that “Democrats don’t care North Carolina“And that is why during his second term he would visit the country on his first official trip as president.
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Trump is predicted Visit California and on Friday to inspect the damage from the fires that ravaged the state this month.
“It looks like something hit, we’re not going to talk about what hit,” Trump said. “But it’s a bad, bad situation.”
Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich and Aubrey Conklin contributed to this report.
