Secretary Duffy tours Helene damage, says residents feel ‘forgotten’ after historic storm
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy toured the devastation left by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and Tennessee, explaining how residents there feel forgotten by the rest of the nation as they continue to rebuild their ravaged communities after the historic storm.
Duffy spoke with “The Faulkner Focus” exclusively from Pigeon River Gorge, where a section of the major interstate I-40 was destroyed in Helene’s floodwaters, to discuss how communities are faring and why many feel forgotten months later.
‘FEMA IS NOT GOOD:’ TRUMP ANNOUNCES AGENCY OVERHAUL DURING VISIT TO NORTH CAROLINA
“When you live in small town America, like many of the communities here in western North Carolina, they feel forgotten,” Duffy told Harris Faulkner on Monday. “They feel like the federal government doesn’t care. Their state governments haven’t cared about them. And I think with this administration, they understand that they might be from a small town, they might not be the richest people. But you know what? We have not forgotten about them because they’re Americans, and they deserve our help and our aid, and we’re going to provide it to them.”
Duffy pledged to rebuild the stretch of the highway that had collapsed, noting it would be a billion-dollar project and would require a lot of time to completely repair it.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy surveyed the damage left by Hurricane Helene months ago in North Carolina and Tennessee.
“This is going to be the most expensive emergency relief project that the Department of Transportation has done in its 50-year history,” Duffy said. “That’s how big this project is and how important it is to get the rebuild right.”
“Donald Trump, he doesn’t move at the speed of prior administrations. He moves lightning quick, so we want to go fast,” he continued. “We want to go cheap, and we want to go safe.”
Meanwhile, Trump has weighed shutting down the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and giving federal recovery money directly to the states for natural disasters. The agency faces scrutiny over its efficiency and alleged bias.
He signed an executive order last month aimed at “drastically” improving the agency’s efficacy, priorities and competence after visiting communities impacted by Hurricane Helene.
TRUMP, GOP LEADERS MEET AT WHITE HOUSE AS PRESIDENT PLANS VISIT TO NC, DEFENDS EXECUTIVE ORDERS
Trump’s executive order establishes the FEMA Review Council, which will be composed of no more than 20 members and co-chaired by the secretaries of Homeland Security and Defense.
The council is being formed after FEMA’s response to Hurricane Helene and other recent disasters showed the need to improve “efficacy, priorities, and competence, including evaluating whether FEMA’s bureaucracy in disaster response” hinders its ability to respond successfully.
“Despite obligating nearly $30 billion in disaster aid each of the past three years, FEMA has managed to leave vulnerable Americans without the resources or support they need when they need it most,” the executive order reads.
Duffy explained smaller infrastructure projects within local communities will also be looked at, emphasizing the need for community connectivity as residents continue to rebuild.
“This is a major artery like we talked about, but there are so many small roads and bridges that connect the communities up in the mountains,” Duffy said. “Many of them have been partially washed away there. The mudslides and the rockslides that have devastated their homes, their churches, their stores, their coffee shops. And so it’s… that infrastructure as well that we’re going to look at and figure out how we can help them rebuild.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Again, sometimes people don’t think about this part of our government as being so critical, but if it doesn’t work, if you don’t have the infrastructure that connects people, again, it affects people’s lives in profound ways,” he continued.
More than 100 people died during Hurricane Helene in North Carolina alone, and tens of thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed.
Despite the traumatic disaster, Duffy explained those who were impacted are adamant about staying where they call home.
“This is their home. This is where their families have been for generations. They want to stay here,” Duffy said. “And that’s why our work is so important, to help them continue to stay in the places that they love and the communities that they’ve enjoyed for so long.”
“We’re going to do our work to make sure that dream can continue to live on.”
Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
