“Whatley, charged by Trump to ensure things ‘go well,’ has done little to alter the fundamental trajectory of Helene recovery.”

New reporting from Smoky Mountain News reveals DC insider and Big Oil lobbyist Michael Whatley has left Western North Carolinians behind after being tapped as “Western North Carolina’s recovery czar” but completely failing to ensure local officials and communities receive federal disaster relief.

According to the report, Whatley has “rarely, if ever” been seen in Helene’s disaster zone and his “most substantial activity” has been sitting on the FEMA Review Council, which has had a grand total of two public meetings.

Read more below on Michael Whatley’s failure to bring federal disaster relief to Western North Carolina.

Smoky Mountain News: Helene Victims Still Waiting On Whatley

August 27, 2025 | Cory Vaillancourt

• Helene inflicted an estimated $60 billion in damage on North Carolina, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in state history […].
• The man put in charge of recovery by President Donald Trump is a longtime party boss with little disaster management experience who is also running for U.S. Senate.
• “I want to say that we’re very disappointed in FEMA,”Trump said. Jan. 24. “Your new governor [Josh Stein, who took office Jan. 1], it’s not his fault. He’s brand new to the whole situation. But we’re going to work together with the governor. We’re going to work together with your senators, but really, we’re going to work a lot with your congressmen, especially the three that are in the area, and Michael Whatley. And I’d like to put Michael in charge of making sure everything goes well.”
• At the six-month anniversary of Helene in March, an investigation by SMN found that for local governments impacted by the storm, just 4% of needs had been met, and that most hadn’t yet seen a nickel. Near the nine-month anniversary, the Asheville Citizen-Times reported the figure had climbed to 6%.
• Last week, WRAL reported that the federal government, specifically DHS, had been “holding up hundreds of millions of dollars in Hurricane Helene aid for North Carolina, while also running behind schedule on millions more in disaster preparedness grants.” 
• Whatley’s appointment was supposed to mean accountability. Instead, it has given rise to a question now being asked across the mountains and increasingly in Raleigh and Washington — where’s Whatley?
• Since his appointment, Whatley has rarely, if ever, been visible in Helene’s disaster zone. His most substantial activity tied to recovery has been as co-chair of the Final Report Subcommittee of the FEMA Review Council, which records from the Federal Register show has met only twice in seven months, for a total of about three hours.
• […] Billions have been promised, but little has arrived. Whatley, charged by Trump to ensure things “go well,” has done little to alter the fundamental trajectory of Helene recovery.
• Michael Whatley did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

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