Senator Ted Budd: “It’s that there is a problem at DHS and FEMA, and it’s a backlog that should not have been allowed.”

WUNC: “[Republican Don] Brown is critical of Whatley’s role in Helene recovery”

There’s “growing frustration” from both sides of the aisle toward DC insider Michael Whatley as he fails to deliver federal Helene relief to Western North Carolina after the President named him “recovery czar” in January.

Yesterday, Ted Budd sounded the alarm over delayed federal relief for Western North Carolina, calling it a “problem” that “should not have been allowed.”

And in a new interview with WUNC, GOP Senate candidate Don Brown was “critical of Whatley’s role in Helene recovery.” 

The criticism from Republicans follows outcry from dozens of Western North Carolinians, who slammed DC insider Michael Whatley, “expressing anger” about Whatley being “absent” and saying he “is to blame” as the federal government reportedly withholds hundreds of millions of dollars of relief.

“DC insider Michael Whatley’s failure to get federal relief to Western North Carolina as ‘recovery czar’ is forcing even his own party to sound the alarm,” said Mallory Payne, senior communications advisor at the North Carolina Democratic Party. “Whatley is leaving Western North Carolina behind, but that’s hardly a surprise after he’s spent his entire career putting special interests and billionaires first.”

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