Western NC’s congressman urges Trump to cut red tape on Helene disaster relief
Happy Monday! Welcome to Under the Dome. It’s Danielle Battaglia.
When President Donald Trump returned to office, his first official trip was to Asheville. There, he caught many by surprise when he announced that Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley would oversee efforts to review the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to Hurricane Helene. I heard even Whatley was caught off guard, but I’m still waiting (almost four months later) for him to return my call to verify.
Trump added Western North Carolina Reps. Virginia Foxx and Chuck Edwards and Rep. Tim Moore, who lives in nearby-ish Kings Mountain. All three are Republicans. There were supposed to be additional members of this committee but no names have been released and the White House hasn’t responded to my emails. (You can sense the theme).
Part of this group’s charge was to determine whether FEMA should be dismantled and the states should individually be left to respond to disasters.
Last week, Edwards was set to give a news conference about his findings, but canceled. Then on Tuesday, he released a 62-page report. Don’t worry. I will condense this for you.
“My recommendations take a WNC-centered approach to address the unique circumstances surrounding our rebuilding process, because typical disaster recovery options will not suffice,” Edwards said in a news release. “I’m confident that these recommendations will help our region gain momentum in recovery, and I look forward to continuing to work with President Trump and the FEMA task force in the next phase of the process, where we implement some of these recommendations.”
Edwards asked Trump to sign nine executive orders and one proclamation, request Congress act on one item and have the Office of Management and Budget act on another.
Much of what Edwards is requesting looks at getting people reimbursed quicker and cutting bureaucratic red tape that would stand in the way of rebuilding.
Among Edwards’ suggestions: reimbursing private road repairs, approving the state and Asheville’s action plan for the Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Relief by June 30, expediting project funding for roads and bridges and increasing the Federal Highway Administration’s cost sharing from 90% to 100%.
Edwards noted that only eight hurricanes ever exceeded $50 billion in damages, but Helene exceeded $59 billion in North Carolina alone. And he predicted without following his suggestions, it could take years to rebuild.
“Western North Carolina also cannot afford for recovery to be interrupted by total terminations of critical recovery programs,” Edwards wrote in his report. “The requests made in this report take a meticulous approach to increasing the functionality of disaster response programs, while reducing the size of the federal disaster footprint, without inhibiting recovery.
“As the Administration reviews opportunities to reform FEMA and make the agency more efficient, please consider the suggestions included above, and employ a similar, cautious approach that preserves access to federal resources for Hurricane Helene recovery.”
Edwards’ report came just four days after the Trump administration announced it would not fulfill the state’s request to raise aid to 100% for Western North Carolina.
Here are other stories from the week:
▪ A court reinstated NIH pandemic research grants for Duke and UNC. But for how long? Brian Gordon reports what you need to know.
▪ Gordon also writes about a Triangle startup, Vulcan Elements, that says it has an answer to America’s rare earth magnet problem. He reports China now leads the world in manufacturing rare earth magnets, but that distinction once belonged to the United States. Find out more here.
▪ Kristen Johnson reports that the federal government cut $330,800 in funding to Durham’s Pauli Murray Center. She explains the rationale for it.
▪ A Charlotte family opened up to Rebecca Noel about the importance of Medicaid in their lives due to the high costs of their medical care needs. Now they worry they might lose everything.
▪ Concerned about measles? Evan Moore writes about a test that shows if you need a vaccine and when infants can get vaccinated.
Tell us your story
Don’t forget, we want to hear from you, our readers, if Trump’s new policies are having a personal impact on you. You can fill out the form we created to get in touch with our staff and tell us your personal stories.
That’s it for now. Be kind to each other. Check back tomorrow for the Under the Dome podcast newsletter.
And if you have any feedback or tips for this new edition of the newsletter, feel free to reach out to me directly at dbattaglia@mcclatchydc.com.
Not a subscriber? Sign up on our website to receive Under the Dome in your inbox daily.
This story was originally published April 21, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Western NC’s congressman urges Trump to cut red tape on Helene disaster relief."
