Trump administration denies North Carolina request for Hurricane Helene relief at level Biden approved

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: ABC News

May 28, 2025, 1:32 PM


The Federal Emergency Management Agency denied North Carolina's request for the agency to match 100% of the state funds for Helene cleanup, according to a letter sent from the acting FEMA administrator to the governor of North Carolina.

"After a careful and thorough review of all the information available, including that contained in your initial request for a cost share adjustment and appeal, we have concluded that an extension of the 100 percent federal cost share for debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance for an additional 180 days under major disaster declaration FEMA-4827-DR is not warranted," acting Administrator David Richardson wrote in the letter.

The cost-sharing request comes from a Biden administration directive to match 100% of the funds that the state puts in to share costs of the disaster cleanup after Hurricane Helene devastated the state as a Category 4 storm in September 2024. Over 230 people were killed by the storm, with at least 72 in Buncombe County, North Carolina, alone, amid record flooding throughout western North Carolina.

While visiting North Carolina in January, President Donald Trump criticized the Biden administration for what he said was not doing enough to provide relief. Trump claimed former President Joe Biden "did a bad job" in aiding North Carolinians in the aftermath of the hurricane, saying, "This is totally unacceptable, and I’ll be taking strong action." Traditionally, there is a cost-sharing model with a 75% federal absorption of costs to 25% for states, but that was changed under the Biden administration to match the costs 100%. It is unclear how FEMA would split costs between states and the federal government for future disaster relief.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/fema-denies-north-carolina-request-100-cost-sharing/story?id=122270931