Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is facing fierce backlash from within her own party, as North Carolina Senator Ted Budd accuses her of stalling hurricane relief efforts through what he calls needless bureaucracy and political theater.
At the center of the dispute is a policy requiring Noem’s personal approval for any FEMA contract or grant exceeding $100,000—a rule that Budd says has crippled the flow of urgently needed disaster funds to his state in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
“We’ve let leadership know we’re going to place holds on all DHS nominees until we get an appropriate dialogue and response on the outstanding invoices that have not been paid to western North Carolina from FEMA,” Budd told CNN. “So, it’s been very slow. But going back to December is when we appropriated the money, when we voted for the money and approved it there. But now here we are, nine months later, we still haven’t seen the reimbursements.”
Helene tore through North Carolina in September 2024, leaving widespread damage and triggering a months-long scramble for aid. But according to Budd, the money his state was promised still hasn’t arrived—and he blames Noem’s insistence on personally signing off on high-dollar FEMA expenses.
The policy, introduced as part of what Noem claims is a broader effort to crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse, has already drawn fire in other crisis zones. In July, Noem was criticized for taking three days to authorize Urban Search and Rescue teams to respond to deadly flash floods in Texas that left 135 people dead.
Now, Budd says the same red tape is holding up critical support for families and communities in North Carolina.
“I know that in each county, every item almost is over $100,000. That’s every single thing that runs through a rather significant agency. I just don’t think that’s the way you navigate this,” Budd said.
“I think there are very competent, even Senate-approved people that can share the load and approve things,” he added. “Choke holding this thing or stonewalling states that are hurt by hurricanes is not the way to get rid of waste fraud and abuse.”
Noem, often derisively referred to as “ICE Barbie” by critics for her staged, tough-on-immigration photo shoots, hasn’t backed down. In an August statement, she dismissed claims that her oversight was causing delays, instead painting herself as a reformer battling bureaucracy.
“Change is hard. It is especially hard for those invested in the status quo, who have forgotten that their duty is to the American people—not entrenched bureaucracy,” Noem said. “I refuse to accept that FEMA red tape should stand between an American citizen suffering and the aid they desperately need.”
But for Budd, the real obstruction isn’t FEMA—it’s Noem herself.
By threatening to block every DHS nominee going forward, Budd is drawing a hard line. His vote was the only Republican “no” on the nomination of Robert Law for a top DHS post—a warning shot aimed squarely at Noem’s office.
