North Carolina's hurricane rebuilding director out of a job

The person who oversees North Carolina’s rebuilding efforts after hurricanes Matthew and Florence is no longer employed by the state.

Laura Hogshead is no longer employed by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety in her role as the director of recovery and resiliency for ReBuild NC, the department’s chief communications officer Jody Donaldson announced Wednesday.

Donaldson said Pryor Gibson is serving as interim director of the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency. Gibson is a legislative lobbyist for Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and a former state representative.

"Together in the House and Senate we have tried to hold [ReBuild NC’s] feet to the fire for their failures,” said State Sen. Danny Britt, R-Hoke, Robeson and Scotland counties.

Britt said he felt that ReBuild NC's "inaction" was "shameful."

Hogshead had held the position since late 2018. Her page was taken off the state's website.

"Hogshead oversees the expenditure of hurricane recovery funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for areas hit by hurricanes Matthew and Florence," the site read before the page was taken down. "Hogshead also oversees the expenditure of U.S. Department of Treasury Coronavirus Relief Fund and Emergency Rental Assistance allocations through the state’s pandemic-related emergency rental assistance program."

On Monday, Hogshead faced tough questions from lawmakers during an Oversight Committee meeting on Monday. Gibson was also questioned alongside Hogshead on Monday by state legislators on the office's budgetary problems.

Hogshead's leadership and the program's slow progress have drawn criticism for years.

WRAL's Documentary Unit has extensively covered the program's struggles in "Aftermath: North Carolina hurricane victims left behind."

Hurricanes Matthew (2016) and Florence (2018) left thousands of low-income North Carolinians homeless. ReBuild NC was tasked with using nearly $800 million in taxpayer funds to help these uninsured residents rebuild their homes.

Hogshead had previously acknowledged the program's failures.

“These are my decisions, my staffing decisions, my policy decisions—and that is on me,” Hogshead said during a 2023 legislation hearing.

Despite the criticism, Hogshead had resisted calls to resign, insisting she is the best person to lead the program.

Cooper has also admitted the program’s pace has been unacceptable, calling for faster progress. However, Cooper did not removed Hogshead, a decision Republican lawmakers have repeatedly criticized.

Cooper established ReBuild NC as a way to improve infrastructure in eastern North Carolina after it was hit by Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Florence.

What was initially reported this fall as a $175 million shortfall for ongoing housing projects in the eastern part of the state grew to a request of more than $220 million at Monday’s hearing. The money will go to the state’s Homeowner Recovery Program, which offers to “repair, rebuild, replace or elevate homes” of applicants affected by Matthew and Florence, according to ReBuild NC’s website.

The governor’s office did not specifically comment on Hogshead’s departure, but spokesperson Jordan Monaghan said in a statement the recovery office has made “substantial progress” in rebuilding homes in the region.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.