Devastation from Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, 2024. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
FEMA funds have also been allocated to debris removal and "life and property" concerns.
"North Carolina families suffering from this unimaginable tragedy were cruelly ignored by the Biden administration," Noem deputy Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
"Under President Trump and Secretary Noem’s leadership, FEMA is moving faster than ever before to get Americans the relief they need. This move to continue supporting North Carolina victims of Hurricane Helene is a testament to that fact."
Trump lambasted former President Joe Biden’s initial response to Helene, claiming he "didn’t like reports that [he was] getting about the federal government."
Trump alleged that more conservative areas – of which the western half of North Carolina has many, with the notable exception of Asheville – were wrongly being underserved by the feds.
Biden, however, rejected the claim, cutting off a reporter who asked him about it at the time.
A stretch of eastbound Interstate 40 in Cocke County, Tenn., near the North Carolina line, collapsed into the raging Pigeon River during Hurricane Helene, stymieing regional commerce. (Brianna Paciorka/Knoxville News-Sentinel/IMAGN)
"He's lying, and the governor told him he was lying. I've spoken to the governor. I spent time with him and he told me [Trump is] lying. I don't know why he does this," said Biden, who had recently spoken with then-North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp around that time.
Republicans also lambasted then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas when he claimed FEMA was running out of funds amid allegations the agency spent large sums on the migrant crisis, according to the New York Post.
However, Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., who represents a swath of storm-ravaged communities, said in a "fact-check" on his congressional website that FEMA did not divert any disaster response to the border or to foreign aid.
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"FEMA’s non-disaster-related presence at the border has always been of major concern to me, even before Hurricane Helene, and I will continue to condemn their deployment of personnel to the southern border, but we must separate the two issues," Edwards said, while adding that the agency informed him they had enough money for recovery needs.
"Secretary Mayorkas’ statement indicating otherwise was an irresponsible attempt to politicize a tragedy for personal gain," Edwards said.
Trump later told a campaign rally in Pennsylvania that Biden’s response to Helene was worse than what followed Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Then-President George W. Bush was memorably lambasted for praising then-FEMA Director Michael Brown’s response – remarking "Brownie, you’re doing a heckuva job," Bush said while surveying recovery efforts in Mobile.
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dhs-juggles-mass-deportation-push-helene-relief