FEMA approves some Helene funding for NC, but Stein says millions more are being held up

The federal government has for months 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 for the 2025 hurricane season, which is already underway.

Now the funds are flowing — slowly — following letters from Gov. Josh Stein to federal officials, who on Tuesday told North Carolina they have approved the distribution of tens of millions of dollars in Helene relief aid. That represents some but not all of the state’s requests.

Stein wrote to Kristi Noem, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretary under President Donald Trump, in July — and then again on Friday — asking why she wasn’t signing off on the paperwork necessary for North Carolina to receive millions