NC Newsline:  “Whatley’s campaign has distanced itself from a supervisory role over recovery.”

New reporting from NC Newsline is highlighting “recovery czar” Michael Whatley’s desperate attempts to “distance [him]self from a supervisory role over recovery.” 

More than a year ago, Whatley was put in charge of the federal Hurricane Helene response, but with Western North Carolina having only received 12% of their needs in federal support since then, Whatley is trying to rewrite history. 

NC Newsline: “Whatley’s campaign has distanced itself from a supervisory role over recovery. ‘He is not a czar of any sort,’ campaign spokesperson Jonathan Felts said last year. Yet, speaking to reporters in Rocky Mount in December, Whatley took credit for progress in the Hurricane Helene recovery process, which he said has been ‘very significant.’”

This comes after a column in the Charlotte Observer last week slammed Whatley for “try[ing] to distance himself” from his failed record.

“Despite his pathetic attempts, ‘recovery czar’ Michael Whatley can’t erase the fact that the president tapped him to ‘lead the team’ and ‘make sure everything goes well,’ said Mallory Payne, senior communications advisor for the North Carolina Democratic Party. “He can try to dodge accountability, but Western North Carolina knows Whatley has failed them and won’t look out for them in the U.S. Senate.”

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