A day after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was berated by a North Carolina senator for the slow flow of disaster aid, the Trump administration released $81 million to the state for hurricane recovery efforts.
The release, disclosed in government emails sent to North Carolina officials Wednesday morning and reviewed by POLITICO’s E&E News, was not announced by the Department of Homeland Security or the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
FEMA is providing the money to help western North Carolina rebuild from Hurricane Helene, which caused enormous flood damage in October 2024 and became a flash point in the presidential election. FEMA said in a statement to POLITICO’s E&E News that the North Carolina projects were approved last week and the release of funds Wednesday was not at all related to criticims the day before by Sen. Thom Tillis (R).
Rep. Deborah Ross (D-N.C.) drew attention to the money while criticizing Noem at a House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday, saying the disaster aid was “magically” released a day after Tillis assailed Noem at a Senate hearing.
