At odds over more Helene recovery money, Trump blames NC Gov. Stein
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Stein requested more Helene recovery aid; Trump deemed him unfit
- Congress must approve additional Helene aid; Stein says current funds lag.
- Stein launched bipartisan AI task force to guide policy and mitigate risks.
Western North Carolina still needs more Helene recovery money, an assessment that has been bipartisan.
But this week, the Trump administration told an Asheville television station that Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s request for more federal Helene money shows Stein is “unfit to run the state.”
That’s a far cry from how the relationship looked in January when President Donald Trump made his first trip to North Carolina after taking office and talked with Stein on the airport tarmac.
Good Sunday morning to you and welcome to the Under the Dome newsletter focusing on the governor. I’m News and Observer Capitol Bureau Chief Dawn Vaughan.
A Trump spokesperson told WLOS News 13 that Helene recovery had been languishing under Stein and Biden, though Stein and Trump both took office the same month.
The remnants of Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina on Sept. 27, nearly a year ago, when Roy Cooper was governor. Cooper is now running for U.S. Senate and likely to face Trump’s pick for the Republican nomination, Michael Whatley.
“President Trump kickstarted recovery in North Carolina following Hurricane Helene, bringing relief that was forgotten and languishing under the Biden Administration and under Governor Stein,” the spokesperson said, going on to say that FEMA’s cost share for debris removal and other measures have been above other state matches.
In order for the state to fund a pricey additional Helene package, the General Assembly would need to send Stein a bill to sign into law, which has already happened twice this year.
“President Trump cares deeply about the people of North Carolina who were affected by Hurricane Helene, and Governor Stein’s request is evidence that he is unfit to run a state,” spokesperson Abigail Jackson told WLOS.
Stein’s statement to News 13, and The News and Observer, was much less combative than Trump’s, with a spokesperson saying that Stein is “grateful for the federal government’s support” and that the size of Congress’ appropriation to WNC is “simply not enough to get the job done, and it’s much less than what other states have received after similar catastrophic storms.”
That echoed what Stein told reporters in Raleigh on Tuesday, when he called on Congress to fund a new aid package to WNC.
Read what Stein said about his Helene requests in my recent story.
Stein, AI and the legislature
While the Republican-controlled General Assembly has steadily removed powers from the past two Democratic governors, one power Stein still has is creating task forces.
A task force is a way to bring together lawmakers, academic experts and others for a private and public partnership over some pressing issue. Stein created a new task force this past week, called the Artificial Intelligence Leadership Council. It’s meant to take a closer look at ways to make North Carolina an AI leader, as Stein describes it, while also mitigating risks.
AI has already been top of mind for a few prominent Republican politicians including State Treasurer Brad Briner and State Auditor Dave Boliek, as well as businesses.
Check out my colleague Kyle Ingram’s story about Boliek’s expanding powers, part of a wide ranging interview he had with Boliek, who told him he doesn’t want to be behind the rest of the world when it comes to AI.
Stein’s appointments to the AI council included four state lawmakers — two Democrats and two Republicans. He’s getting ahead of what will also be an issue in the General Assembly in the 2026 session. Lawmakers still haven’t actually adjourned the 2025 session, but the bulk of their bill-passing work is finished — with the exception of their primary job, which is to send Stein a state budget bill.
I talked to Republican Rep. Jake Johnson after Stein’s press conference announcing the group, and Johnson said he’ll float a draft of an AI regulatory reform bill to the council to get its feedback on what to include, and what not to.
Read more about the new task force, Johnson’s bill and how AI may impact jobs here.
Thanks for reading. Reach me at dvaughan@newsobserver.com. Be sure to catch our latest Under the Dome podcast every Tuesday on all podcast platforms.
This story was originally published September 7, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "At odds over more Helene recovery money, Trump blames NC Gov. Stein."
