The firings come after Elon Musk wrote on X Monday that “The DOGE team just discovered that FEMA sent $59M LAST WEEK to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants.”
“That money is meant for American disaster relief and instead is being spent on high-end hotels for illegals. A clawback demand will be made today to recoup those funds,” Musk posted on X.
Back in late January, President Donald Trump announced plans to reform FEMA during a visit to North Carolina as many residents there continue recovering from Hurricane Helene, which struck the state over 120 days ago.
“I’ll also be signing an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA, or maybe getting rid of FEMA,” Trump told reporters Friday morning during his visit. “I think, frankly, FEMA is not good.”
Trump also pledged that his administration would provide assistance to North Carolina to help repair the damage swiftly, assuring the state that he would “do a good job” in the recovery efforts.
“We’re going to fix it, and we’re going to fix it as fast as you can,” Trump said. “It’s a massive amount of damage. FEMA has really let us down. Let the country down. And I don’t know if that’s Biden’s fault or whose fault it is, but we’re going to take over. We’re going to do a good job.”
Trump also expressed a desire to see states take on more responsibility when disasters occur, arguing that local officials are better equipped to respond to and manage relief efforts. He promised to collaborate with three lawmakers from areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, criticizing FEMA for being “not on the ball” in aiding North Carolina’s recovery after the hurricane.
So we’re going to be doing something on FEMA that I think most people agree [with],” Trump said. “I’d like to see the states take care of disasters, let the state take care of the tornadoes and the hurricanes and all of the other things that happen. And I think you’re going to find it a lot less expensive. You’ll do it for less than half, and you’re going to get a lot quicker response.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports that only half of the debris removal from Hurricane Helene has been completed. Meanwhile, thousands of families in North Carolina are still staying in hotels, with FEMA covering the costs through its Transitional Housing Assistance program, Fox News reported.
As a late January deadline approached for families to be removed from hotels, FEMA announced this week that it has extended the deadline to May 26. Over 3,000 families are eligible for the extension of the program.
“It’s been a horrible thing the way that’s been allowed to fester, and we’re going to get it fixed up,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday before flying to North Carolina. “It should have been done months ago from the hurricane that took place almost four months ago. North Carolina’s been treated very badly so we’re stopping there.”
In an exclusive interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Wednesday, Trump stated that “Democrats don’t care about North Carolina,” which is why he planned to visit the state for his first official trip as president during his second term.
Several residents spoke out during Trump’s visit about what they’ve been through and what his trip to the region means to them.
“It’s been hell,” Swannanoa resident Michelle, who wanted to be identified only by her first name, told Fox.
