President Donald Trump has set his sights on FEMA after the agency’s slow response to Hurricane Helene left thousands in North Carolina without timely assistance. The Trump administration took action, resolving 80% of outstanding cases in only five days, exposing what he called a failure of leadership under the previous administration.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited the hardest-hit areas, speaking directly with residents and officials about the challenges they faced under FEMA. Many families, she said, had been waiting for months without help. “FEMA can often be slow and confusing with a lot of paperwork,” Noem stated. She added that Trump’s leadership had already secured over $54 million in aid for the region.
Trump, during a visit to North Carolina, criticized FEMA’s failures under Biden, pointing out that many communities remained in crisis. “Biden did a bad job,” he said, highlighting the fact that some residents still lacked hot water and drinking water months after the storm. He also noted that half of FEMA’s emergency calls went unanswered.
Beyond North Carolina, Trump and Noem have raised concerns over FEMA’s broader failures, including its handling of disasters in California and past mismanagement stretching back to Hurricane Katrina. Trump has suggested eliminating the agency altogether, instead directing disaster relief funds straight to states. Noem stated, “You’ve heard him make comments that he might even want to end it and have it be a process where the federal government sends block grants.”
According to FEMA, 153,000 households have received assistance since the storm, but Trump’s administration has argued that the agency remains too inefficient. Trump has already signed an executive order to review FEMA’s structure, with further changes potentially on the way.
The administration has pledged to continue efforts to speed up disaster relief, with ongoing discussions about reforming FEMA’s operations.
