Helene: Questions swirl on relief money, $59M to migrants in luxury hotels

By Alan Wooten
The Center Square 

Four federal workers were confirmed fired Tuesday, less than 24 hours after Elon Musk revealed that the government gave $59 million to luxury New York City hotels to shelter people who had entered America illegally.

Now, North Carolina congressmen are fueling the fire with connections to Hurricane Helene's response as questions swirl amid the 20th week of recovery from the storm.

In an email to The Center Square, the Department of Homeland Security did not confirm or deny a connection or impact to relief efforts in western North Carolina. The embattled Federal Emergency Management Agency is a major agency within Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s DHS.

DHS wrote in the statement, “Effective immediately, FEMA is terminating the employment of four individuals for circumventing leadership to unilaterally make egregious payments for luxury NYC hotels for migrants. The firings include FEMA’s Chief Financial Officer, two program analysts, and a grant specialist.

“Under President Trump and Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS will not sit idly and allow deep state activists to undermine the will and safety of the American people.”

The department did not answer whether a connection existed between the $59 million and Helene relief efforts. Elected leaders, however, had no problem coupling FEMA miseries with Musk's and the Department of Government Efficiency's discoveries.

Writing on social media, U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., said, “I applaud the @DOGE team for uncovering what we all suspected. FEMA funds that could have been used to help western North Carolina rebuild were illegally diverted to house illegal aliens.”

The New York Post and other outlets were first to report on the luxury hotels on Monday. New York City Hall officials “rebutted” the claim.

Musk said, “A clawback demand will be made today to recoup those funds.”

This would not be the first time information, and whether true, swirled around FEMA and Helene recovery. Though, on this occasion, Musk posted to his social media platform, “Under Biden, FEMA took money AWAY from Americans in need of disaster relief and spent it on 5 star hotels for illegals. Pure evil.”

A previous occasion explained by The Center Square involved Alejandro Mayorkas, former secretary of Homeland Security, telling White House press corps on a plane to North Carolina in the first week of recovery that “FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season and what – what is imminent.”

His comment from the transcript was paired with an April release from FEMA on $640 million for migrants and ignited across the political spectrum less than five weeks before a presidential Election Day.

The context was lost, however. Hurricane recovery comes from a Disaster Relief Fund – a different pot of money for the FEMA. And lost on Mayorkas was the reality of congressional action a full week earlier.

As explained by U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., at the time on a Fox News Radio interview, she was asked if Congress should reconvene to appropriate more money. She responded, “Actually, no, that’s not necessary because we passed the continuing resolution and we fully funded the government as of Oct. 1st. The speaker has pointed this out before. When they say they don’t have money, their budgets are complete.

“They have all the money they need. We funded the federal government in September before we left. And so, there is no need for Congress to go back and give supplemental funding.”

That stance on more supplemental funding, made in early October, has changed. Congress sent about $9 billion of a $110 billion package to the state in December, and more is still needed. Former Gov. Roy Cooper's estimate in October was $53 billion in damage.

North Carolina lawmakers have legislation in committee to provide what would be a fourth installment.

Still, the news early in the week is leaving many disgruntled.

“Why should illegal immigrants,” wrote U.S. Rep. Tim Moore, R-N.C., on social media, “get luxury hotel rooms while my constituents, AMERICAN CITIZENS, had to call my office because FEMA wouldn’t respond to requests to extend their hotel vouchers during the winter storm?? It’s absolutely disgusting.

“Under the leadership of @POTUS,” he wrote referencing President Donald Trump, “we’re going to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”