GOP North Carolina senator lifts holds on DHS nominees after FEMA funds approved for his state
Source: The Hill
12/05/25 4:54 PM ET
Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) said Friday he will lift his remaining holds on President Trump’s nominees to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after the department approved disaster recovery funds for his state. Budd had holds on Sean Plankey, who was nominated to be director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and Pedro Allende, who was nominated to be under secretary for Science and Technology.
His announcement comes after the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved $29 million in reimbursements for Hurricane Helene recovery projects in North Carolina.
He previously lifted his hold on James Percival, who was nominated to be the agency’s general counsel, after FEMA approved another $155 million.
“I am grateful for Secretary [Kristi] Noem working with me to more regularly approve reimbursements for Helene and past disaster recovery projects,” Budd said in a statement Friday. However, he also noted that there’s still more funding that has yet to be approved. “While I have released my holds on DHS nominees, I will continue to engage all relevant federal agencies to make sure Western North Carolina receives the focus and attention it deserves, particularly the final distribution of funds to the municipalities and state agencies in desperate need of financial relief,” he said.
Budd announced the holds earlier this year, and at the time, he criticized a policy requiring Noem to personally approve all expenditures more than $100,000. It’s a move that the Trump administration argues will save taxpayers money, but critics say will cause delays for disaster response and recovery.
Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5636312-north-carolina-dhs-fema-helene/
This is how you play the game with "holds" and in this case, a GOPer did it when FEMA was rejecting funding for NC after their disasters last year, in order to punish the state for having a (D) governor.
= new reply since forum marked as read
