With Noem out, North Carolina hopes to get FEMA funding

+ Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics With Noem out, North Carolina hopes to get FEMA funding Politicians in North Carolina are hopeful new leadership at the Department of Homeland Security will result in finally getting FEMA recovery funding that's been delayed by Kristi Noem. National With Noem out, North Carolina hopes to get FEMA funding March 10, 20264:05 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition By Gerard Albert III With Noem out, North Carolina hopes to get FEMA funding Listen &middot; 2:21 2:21 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5742686/nx-s1-9681498" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript Politicians in North Carolina are hopeful new leadership at the Department of Homeland Security will result in finally getting FEMA recovery funding that's been delayed by Kristi Noem. Sponsor Message STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: North Carolinians celebrated the departure of Kristi Noem from the Department of Homeland Security, and that's because she had held up hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of recovery funds. Blue Ridge Public Radio's Gerard Albert III reports.

+ GERARD ALBERT III, BYLINE: It's not clear if President Trump's new pick to lead DHS, Senator Markwayne Mullin, will deliver much-needed recovery dollars. Still, politicians in North Carolina are hopeful, like Republican Congressman Chuck Edwards, who represents most of the area damaged by flooding and landslides in the 2024 storm. CHUCK EDWARDS: I certainly welcome a change in the direction of Homeland Security. What we have experienced for the last several months has not been working. ALBERT III: Part of what has not been working is a policy implemented by Noem that required her to sign off on any FEMA expenditures more than a hundred thousand dollars. One of her biggest critics was another Republican lawmaker, North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis. Here he is last week during a Senate judiciary hearing. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) THOM TILLIS: The Homeland Security Act of 2002 expressly prohibits the secretary of Homeland Security from restricting or diverting FEMA resources from the agency's mission. Based on your disaster response, I have reason to believe that you're violating the law, either knowingly or unknowingly. ALBERT III: President Trump fired Noem three days later. Tillis told CNN that her replacement, Markwayne Mullin, will need to move with more urgency when it comes to FEMA. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) TILLIS: He's got to fix what's broken there and build on what's right. ALBERT III: That sentiment was echoed by North Carolina's Democratic governor, Josh Stein. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) JOSH STEIN: FEMA needs to act with greater urgency, approving and distributing funds for relief. And I'm eager to work with Senator Mullin in his new capacity to achieve that goal. ALBERT III: So far, the federal government has approved about $7 billion for western North Carolina. Stein has asked Congress for another 13 billion in recovery funds. For NPR News, I'm Gerard Albert III in Asheville, North Carolina. (SOUNDBITE OF BERRY WEIGHT'S "YETI'S LAMENT") Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor MessageBecome an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1167:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(323)},323:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(84)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1140),c(116),c(94),c(52),c(493),c(239),c(102),c(104),c(1141),c(143),c(1142),c(238),c(48),c(1143)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1167,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();