In both his private and public roles, convicted felon Donald Trump is screwing over the people of North Carolina who were affected by Hurricane Helene. During the 2024 election season, Trump disparaged the Federal Emergency Management Agency and took matters into his own hands instead, doing a GoFundMe that raised nearly $8 million.
Given that this is Trump we’re talking about, no one will be surprised to learn that the money was just shunted off to private organizations. Of the five groups that received funds, four are Christian charities, and most have ties to Trump or are big supporters. Of course, the groups won’t answer questions about what they did with the money, save for one that provided information showing they spent $25,000 on gift cards for rural communities affected by the storm. The other groups declined to answer questions from Grist, which broke the story, but hey, at least we know where 0.3% of the money went!
Once Trump took office, he made sure to keep hurting North Carolina, withholding critical disaster aid for no real reason except that he can. In May, FEMA denied the state’s request for a 100% match of state funds for hurricane cleanup, and it wasn’t until this month that FEMA turned on the spigot for additional funds. When Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced an additional $48 million in disaster funding for the state on Sept. 21, she bragged that FEMA was delivering dollars to communities “at record speed.” Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina nearly a year ago . . . Way to go, Kristi!
This week, North Carolina disaster personnel said that the federal government had covered roughly 9% of disaster cleanup costs, compared to previous storms, where the federal government paid about 70%. They also said that FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which provides money for home buyouts and elevation, has not approved a single project in North Carolina. FEMA has had those applications since … February.
The cost of recovery is estimated at around $60 billion, and thus far, the federal government has provided about $5.2 billion. However, fun fact about that $5.2 billion: the state says only about $800 million has actually been disbursed to the state.
The delay is, in part, due to the new genius idea that Noem personally approves all contracts over $100,000. Back when this dumb policy was announced in June, officials at FEMA sounded the alarm about how this would bottleneck emergency funding during the upcoming hurricane season. The decision to bottle-neck funds was made retroactive to funds for the previous hurricane season as well. Heckuva job, Kristi.
It’s not just FEMA money that isn’t coming through. There’s also $1.4 billion in Housing and Urban Development funds for a state-run home repair program. Even though it’s been awarded, the state doesn’t have it yet. No one can say why . . . meanwhile, 3,300 people with wrecked homes have submitted applications.
It’s tough to find a starker example of Trump’s deep disregard for people than how he has treated disaster victims in North Carolina. It’s not just North Carolina that is suffering. Trump has diverted FEMA funds to build migrant prisons. He oversaw an absolutely shameful FEMA response to the floods in Texas, leading the agency’s head of Urban Search and Rescue to resign. Meanwhile, the acting administrator, David Richardson, was nowhere to be found, and FEMA search and rescue teams did not arrive for four days.
Trump has no interest in helping people. For him, FEMA is half slush fund, half weapon. People who are affected by natural disasters get scraps, dribs and drabs whenever Noem gets around to reading her inbox. Meanwhile, Hurricane Helene recovery grinds on with an inadequate patchwork of state and private funds. Under Trump, we’re all on our own.
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