President Donald Trump says he plans to overhaul the Federal Emergency Management Agency as North Carolina continues to recover more than 120 days after Hurricane Helen hit.
“I'm also going to sign an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA, or perhaps abolishing FEMA,” President Trump told reporters Friday morning in North Carolina. ” he said. Frankly, I don't think FEMA is good. ”
President Trump also promised that the government would step in to help North Carolina quickly repair the damage and vowed 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 loss. FEMA really let us down. Let 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 it. ”Please do a good job. ”
President Trump also said he wants states to take more responsibility when disasters occur, arguing that those familiar with the states are better equipped to provide disaster response and relief.
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Aerial view of buildings destroyed and damaged by Hurricane Helen's flooding in Batcave, North Carolina, on October 8. (Tama Mario/Getty Images)
President Trump also promised to work with three members of Congress from affected areas. hurricane helenclaimed that FEMA was “not involved” in assisting North Carolina in the aftermath of the hurricane.
“So we're going to do what I think most people would agree with in terms of FEMA. [with]President Trump said, “I want states to deal with disasters. Leave tornadoes and hurricanes and everything else that happens to the states.” And I think you'll find it to be much cheaper. It's less than half the cost and you'll get a faster response. ”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers claims so far that debris recovery from Hurricane Helen is only half complete. Additionally, thousands of families in North Carolina remain in hotels paid for by FEMA under the Transitional Housing Assistance (TSA) program.
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Photos of the aftermath of Hurricane Helen provided to Fox News Digital by the office of Congresswoman Cat Cammack. (Office of Representative Kat Cammack)
The deadline for these families to leave their hotels was approaching in late January, but FEMA announced this week that the deadline has been extended to May 26. In total, more than 3,000 families will be eligible for the program extension.
“It's terrible how bad things have gotten. We're going to fix it,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday before departing for North Carolina. “We should have done it a few months ago because of the hurricane that happened about four months ago. North Carolina has been treated so badly that we decided to stop there.”
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U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One as it departs for North Carolina at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., January 24, 2025. (Leah Millis/Reuters)
President Trump said in an exclusive interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity on Wednesday that he plans to visit North Carolina for his first official trip as president in his second term because “Democrats don't care about North Carolina.” He said that.
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President Trump is scheduled to visit California on Friday to assess the damage caused by the wildfires that hit the state on Friday.
“It looks like something hit. I'm not going to talk about what hit,” Trump said. “But it's a very bad situation.”
FOX News' Jackie Heinrich and Aubrey Conklin contributed to this report.
