Trump administration hasn't paid 'fair share' for Helene recovery Stein says, preparing trip to DC

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein is planning a trip to Washington this week as he pressures the federal goverment to release already-approved funds for Hurricane Helene relief and also plans to personally lobby members of Congress to approve $13.5 billion more for storm relief.

Helene devatated North Carolina a year ago, killing more than 100 people and shattering records as the most damaging storm in state history. It did an estimated $60 billion in damage spread across two dozen counties — destroying homes, roads, farms, businesses, schools, parks and more.

Federal funding has slowed under President Donald Trump, Stein said, in large part due to new red tape the Trump administration has implemented in an attempt to slow or stop federal spending. Stein said that in many cases, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved aid for western North Carolina, but other White House officials haven't allowed that already-approved FEMA money to be sent to North Carolina.

"We need more help," Stein said in a speech Monday in Flat Rock in Henderson County. "The next stage of recovery is going to require a new commitment from Congress and from the administration to not forget the people of Western North Carolina. West North Carolina has not received anywhere near what it needs, nor our fair share."

Trump is a Republican; Stein is a Democrat. But the fight over funding hasn't been entirely partisan. Last week U.S. Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) went against the Trump administration, announcing he'd block some nominees who need congressional approval until North Carolina received more Helene aid.

Budd's gambit worked, and $12 million in aid was quickly signed off on. And on Monday, as Stein was speaking in Flat Rock, Budd announced his pressure in D.C. had led to an additional $64 million being released for Helene aid.

"I am thankful for President Trump’s strong support for Western North Carolina and personal interest in reducing the backlog of projects requiring reimbursement," Budd said in a news release.

Stein also created a task force for Helene recovery with bipartisan leadership: Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer, a Democrat, and state Sen. Kevin Corbin, a Republican who represents several western North Carolina counties. Congress is controlled by Republicans, so any extra Helene aid will take GOP support. Stein will be relying on Budd, Corbin and other Republicans to help him convince Congress to give North Carolina the $13.5 billion extra he's now seeking.

"I'll personally thank President Trump, Senators Bud and [Thom] Tillis, Rep. [Chuck] Edwards, for everything that they've done so far in getting us on the right track for recovery," Corbin said Monday. "And I urge them to stand by our side in this next phase."

Trump appears unlikely to support any additional money for Helene aid, however. Earlier this month when Stein was proposing a smaller request of $11.5 billion — not the $13.5 billion he said he's now seeking — a White House spokeswoman told WRAL that "Stein’s request is evidence that he is unfit to run a state."

Aid held up by DOGE, other roadblocks

Other large hurricanes, including Hurricane Sandy under President Barack Obama and Hurricane Katrina under President George Bush, saw the federal government pay for more than 70% of the recovery costs, Stein said. But he said that so far the federal government has approved just 9% of the Hurricane Helene recovery costs for North Carolina, much of which was approved in the final days of President Joe Biden's administration. But even much of that money approved in 2024 under Biden has still been blocked by the Trump administration from making it to North Carolina, Stein said.

WRAL reported last month that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kriti Noem allowed $96 million to be sent to North Carolina, days after Stein wrote her a series of letters inquiring where the money was. That's only a fraction of the money that FEMA has approved, however.

"We're still waiting on billions of dollars that Congress appropriated last December with the American Relief Act," Stein said Monday. "We are grateful for the millions that have gotten signed off in recent weeks. They are essential and sorely needed. But we're waiting on billions."

In the past, Stein said, once FEMA approved funding it would be immediately be sent to the affected state. But under Trump, he said, Noem has begun a new policy that nothing for more than $100,000 — which includes nearly all disaster recovery requests — can be spent without her personal approval. And now, Stein said, Trump's Department of Government Efficiency has also recently begun demanding that even money that get approved by FEMA, and by Noem, now must also be approved by the DOGE team, too.

"They've created a third bureaucratic level of review, called 'Defend the Spend,' and it's in this DOGE committee," Stein said. "And that can take another 30 to 90 days."

While Stein pushes Noem and the White House to let that money flow faster, he's also planning to ask Congress to spend even more. The state legislature has approved about $2 billion for Helene relief so far, but the federal government historically provides the majority of disaster relief funding.

"Recovery is a team sport," Stein said. "The state has been putting in money and effort, and one year after this terrible tragedy, it is time for our federal government to meet the needs of the people of Western North Carolina."