President Donald Trump said he plans to review the Federal Emergency Management Agency as North Carolina continues to recover from Hurricane Helene — more than 120 days after the storm hit the state.
“I will also sign an executive order to begin the process of fundamental reforms Overhaul FEMAor maybe abolishing FEMA,” Trump told reporters in North Carolina on Friday morning. I honestly don’t think FEMA is good.
Trump also promised that his administration would step in and help North Carolina quickly repair the damage, 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 has really let us down. The country abandoned. And I don’t know if that’s Biden’s fault or whose fault it is, but we’re going to take it. doing a good job.”
Trump also said he would like to see states take more responsibility when a disaster strikes, arguing that those familiar with the state are better equipped to provide disaster response and assistance.
An aerial view of destroyed and damaged buildings in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene’s flooding on October 8 in Bat Cave, NC (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Trump also pledged to work with three of the lawmakers whose areas were affected Hurricane Heleneclaiming that FEMA was “off the ball” in assisting North Carolina in the aftermath of the hurricane.
“So we’re going to do something on FEMA that I think most people would agree with,” Trump said. “I would like to see the states handle disasters, have the state take care of the tornadoes and the hurricanes and all the other things that happen. And I think you’ll find it a lot cheaper. You do it for less than half, and you get a response much faster.”
So far, the US Army Corps of Engineers claims only half of the debris recovery for Hurricane Helene has been completed. Additionally, thousands of families in North Carolina are staying in hotels where FEMA is footing the bill Temporary housing assistance (TSA) program.
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Photo of the aftermath of Hurricane Helene provided to Fox News Digital by Congresswoman Kat Cammack’s office. (Office of Congresswoman Kat Cammack)
As these families neared the late January deadline that would have removed them from hotels, FEMA announced this week that it had extended the deadline to May 26. In total, more than 3,000 families are eligible for the program extension.
“It’s been a terrible thing the way it has developed and we’re going to fix it,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday before leaving for North Carolina. “It should have been done months ago because of the hurricane that happened almost four months ago. North Carolina has been treated very poorly, so we’re going to stop doing that.”
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U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One as he departs for North Carolina at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., January 24, 2025. (Lea Millis/Reuters)
Trump said in an exclusive interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Wednesday that “the Democrats don’t care.” North Carolina‘ and therefore he would visit the state for his first official trip as president during his second term.
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Trump plans Visit California on Friday also to assess the damage caused by wildfires that have ravaged the state this month.
“It looks like something hit it, we won’t talk about what hit it,” Trump said. “But it’s a bad, bad situation.”
Jacqui Heinrich and Aubrey Conklin of Fox News contributed to this report.
