Republican Sen. Ted Budd blasted FEMA for “stonewalling” funds to his state to get better from Hurricane Helene and stated that he plans to use his leverage within the chamber to stall Department of Homeland Security nominees till the problem is addressed.
Budd voted to filibuster a prime DHS official Tuesday, and his spokesman issued an announcement saying that the senator is “deeply concerned” over the relief effort.
“Sen. Budd is deeply concerned by the slow approval and distribution of funding from the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA for Hurricane Helene recovery,” stated Budd’s spokesman Christian McMullen.
Budd, whose state was hit laborious by Helene final 12 months, was the one Republican to vote with Democrats in a failed bid to block Robert Law from to be underneath secretary for technique, coverage and plans at DHS.
Later, Budd instructed NCS that he’ll put holds on all DHS nominees till this situation is resolved. He stated a important drawback in getting funds to his storm-struck constituents is that Secretary Kristi Noem must personally sign off on any expenditure over $100,000. He stated has pressed them to change that coverage and is flummoxed why they gained’t.
A maintain would forestall fast motion to verify a nominee with out Budd’s consent.
“We’ve let leadership know we’re going to place holds on all DHS nominees until we get an appropriate dialogue and response on the outstanding invoices that have not been paid to western North Carolina from FEMA,” he stated. “So, it’s been very slow. But going back to December is when we appropriated the money, when we voted for the money and approved it there. But now here we are, nine months later, we still haven’t seen the reimbursements.”
“I know that in each county, every item almost is over $100,000. That’s every single thing that runs through a rather significant agency. I just don’t think that’s the way you navigate this. I think there are very competent, even Senate-approved people that can share the load and approve things,” he stated. “Choke holding this thing or stonewalling states that are hurt by hurricanes is not the way to get rid of waste fraud and abuse.”
NCS has reached out to DHS for remark.
Asked if he had reached out to Noem to encourage her to change the coverage, Budd famous that they have been former colleagues within the House however stated it’s been troublesome to organize a gathering.
“We’ve been reaching out for quite a while and have had some difficulty,” he stated. “We’ve reached out multiple times to schedule. It shouldn’t be difficult. And I can tell you that every other Cabinet secretary has been wonderful to work with and very easy to work with, and I look forward to that from Sec. Noem.”
In June, NCS reported Noem was tightening her grip on her division’s purse strings, ordering that each contract and grant over $100,000 should now cross her desk for approval.
A DHS spokesperson stated on the time that “Secretary Noem is delivering accountability to the U.S. taxpayer, which Washington bureaucrats have ignored for decades at the expense of American citizens.”
In July, NCS reported that FEMA’s response to flooding in Texas was slowed by Noem’s value controls, in accordance to officers contained in the company – an assertion that DHS pushed again on.
The huge devastation of Hurricane Helene turned a political flashpoint through the 2024 presidential election.
Donald Trump criticized then-President Joe Biden and then-Vice President Kamala Harris over the federal response, whereas vowing to assist these impacted by the hurricane.