In a new interview with WLOS, DC insider Michael Whatley claimed Helene recovery efforts in Western North Carolina are “going really well” – but Western North Carolinians couldn’t disagree more as Whatley fails to deliver federal relief nine months into his role as “recovery czar.”
WLOS reporter: In January, President Trump made you czar of recovery in western North Carolina. How is that going?
Whatley: It’s going really well at this point in time.
Here’s a look at the facts:
- Yesterday, more than 100 Western North Carolinians called on Whatley to be removed from the FEMA Review Council and protested him at a closed door FEMA “Listening Session.”
- Western North Carolinians showed “growing frustration” and “express[ed] anger” at Whatley for being “absent,” saying he “is to blame” for the delays.
- Republicans Ted Budd and Chuck Edwards sounded the alarm last week over the delays in federal relief, with Budd calling it a “problem” that “should not have been allowed.”
“Things may look good from Michael Whatley’s perch in Washington D.C. but on the ground in Western North Carolina, people know Whatley is failing them and completely out of touch,” said Mallory Payne, senior communications advisor for the North Carolina Democratic Party. “Whatley is nowhere to be found as communities wait for relief funding that has been held up for nine months under his watch, and that’s why they’re calling on FEMA to fire him.”
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