NC Republican: FEMA needs to be revamped, new director

North Carolina Rep. Chuck Edwards (R) slammed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) during an interview, saying the agency must be reviewed and have a new director at the helm.

“Well, we continue to be frustrated with FEMA, their communication, their sensitivity, frankly, to those people who have lost their homes, who have been displaced by the storm,” Edwards, whose district sustained damage devastating and flooding from Hurricane Helene. four months ago, he said during his Tuesday appearance on NewsNation’s “The Hill.”

“This is an organization that clearly needs to be overhauled, and I’m looking forward to being a part of it after January 20,” he told host Blake Burman.

Burman then asked the GOP lawmaker how he would modernize the government agency.

“First of all, we need a new director, a new administrator, and we need to change the culture of FEMA,” Edwards said Tuesday. “There’s too much government bureaucracy and not enough concern for the people they should be helping.”

The agency, responsible for helping states and communities devastated by disasters such as hurricanes Helene i Miltonhas been criticized by some residents and lawmakers in late 2024 for its response in Florida and North Carolina.

The control was intensified after one of his workers he was fired for allegedly advising an outreach team in Florida not to visit homes displaying signs favorable to President-elect Trump. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell was called to Capitol Hill to testify. The incident also caused an internal audit of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General Joseph Cuffari that began on December 17.

FEMA has also been under the microscope operation in California amidst the ongoing wildfires they have hundreds of thousands of displaced people of the residents

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) pressed the agency for denying claims for assistance for lack of insurance information.

“I’m hearing about frustrations with FEMA because they’ve done what we asked, which is to register on the disasterassistance.gov site, and then some of them have gotten approvals or no approvals,” Chu, whose district has been damaged . by Eaton’s fire, he said on tuesday

Chu encouraged constituents to call FEMA directly if their claims are denied or visit the new disaster resource center to “ask what’s going on with your application.”

The Hill has reached out to the agency for comment.

NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.

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