As Western North Carolina is recovering from Hurricane Helene, Whatley supportedcuttingback FEMA’s in national disaster relief which could leave states having to be responsible for millions of dollars in infrastructure rebuilding. Whatley’s support was reflected in the recommendations from the FEMA review council in which he was a part of.
Also part of the FEMA review council’s recommendations, was a call to privatize flood insurance. Privatizing flood insurance could increase insurance rates for people and increase profits for insurance companies. Whatley held stock in several insurance companies that would benefit from privatization and increased rates.
Whatley suggested to Trump that he should abolish FEMA.
[AUDIO] Whatley Claimed That Trump “Felt Very Strongly That The Recovery Efforts Need To Be Led By The States” And That He Wanted “Programs In Place That Are Going To Empower The States.” “Well, look, we are going to have a federal emergency response. There is always going to need to be a federal emergency response. But the fact is, in Hurricane Helene, North Carolina, got absolutely drilled. 73,000 homes were damaged, 45,000 small businesses were damaged. And the response from FEMA was not what it needed to be. Right. President Trump feels very strongly that the recovery efforts need to be led by the states, and we want to make sure that we have programs in place that are going to empower the state” [The Takeout with Major Garrett, 05/27/25]
[AUDIO] When Asked If State Budgets Could Handle That, Whatley Claimed That “States Need To Be Able To Step Up And Make Sure they’re Helping With The Recovery.” “HOSTt: State budgets have room for that? WHATLEY: There's always going to be a dual role for the federal government and the state government, but the states need to be able to step up and make sure that they're helping with the recovery. But the federal government will play an important role, no question about it.” [The Takeout with Major Garrett, 5/27/25]
Whatley Claimed That Federal Disaster Assistance “Should Only Be Reserved For Truly Significant Events.” According to NOLA, “‘Federal assistance should only be reserved for truly significant events that exceed state, local, tribal, territorial capacity and capability,’ said Michael Whatley, a member of the President’s Council to Assess the Federal Emergency Management Agency and former chair of the Republican National Committee.” [NOLA, 5/7/26]
[AUDIO] Whatley Claimed That The Federal Government And FEMA Shouldn’t Be The First Responders In Storms. “He did ask me to be on the FEMA Review Council, where we need to have a very hard look at how FEMA operates. And the fact is the federal government should not be the first responders when we have storms like this. I mean, it really is. You know, let the counties kind of execute in terms of the recovery for the storms the states need to oversee and the federal government needs to provide support for it.” [The Fox News Rundown, 10/10/25]
HEADLINE: Trump Task Force Recommends Sweeping Changes To FEMA — But Not Eliminating It [NOLA, 5/7/26]
The Recommendation Include Raising The Threshold For Disaster Declaration. According to NPR, “The FEMA Review Council is recommending raising that threshold by more than 50% and also changing how it is calculated, which means states would only qualify with higher levels of damage. During Trump's first term, his administration made a similar proposal just before leaving office in 2020. The report finds that if this threshold had already been adjusted, ‘29% of disasters declared between 2012 and 2025 would not have met the indicator, representing $1.5 billion.’” [NPR, 5/7/26]
Asheville Citizen-Times: Senate Hopeful Whatley Backed FEMA Plan That Could Boost His Portfolio [Asheville Citizen-Times, 7/7/26]
The Council Recommended Privatizing Flood Insurance. According to NPR, “The other major recommendation is to shrink the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which provides the majority of residential flood insurance in the United States. The program has struggled financially since it was created in the 1960s, and in the last few decades it has been on the verge of collapse multiple times. […] The council recommends shifting some flood insurance policies to private insurance companies, and moving faster to map flood risk accurately across the country, so that fewer homes are in harm's way.” [NPR, 5/7/26]
The Final FEMA Review Council Report Called For “A Strategic Shift Toward A Primary Role For The Private Market” And Called For A Program To Move Flood Insurance Policies Into The Private Market. According to the Asheville Citizen-Times, “The council’s final report, released months late on May 7, called for ‘a strategic shift toward a primary role for the private market’ for the National Flood Insurance Program, including a ‘take-out’ program designed to move flood insurance policies from the federal program into private markets.” [Asheville Citizen-Times, 7/7/26]
The Privatization Of Flood Insurance Would Increase Rates. According to the Asheville Citizen-Times, “The NFIP is subsidized by taxpayers, which helps keep rates low on high-risk properties insurers are hesitant to cover. In January, insurance shopping website Insurify noted that 90% of all flood insurance polices in the U.S. were through the NFIP at an average annual cost of $934. In the private market, those policies could end up costing more than $1,500 if the council’s recommendations are adopted.” [Asheville Citizen-Times, 7/7/26]
Whatley Owned Between $36,008 And $190,000 In Insurance Stocks Of Berkshire Hathaway, Fairfax Financial Holdings And Progressive Corporation Stock. According to the Asheville Citizen-Times, “Whatley’s 2025 Senate financial disclosure shows a $461,000 salary in 2025, when he served as chair of the Republican National Committee, and between $3.5 million and $12 million in investments. A small part of that portfolio is between $36,008 and $190,000 in Berkshire Hathaway, Fairfax Financial Holdings and Progressive Corporation stock.” [Asheville Citizen-Times, 7/7/26]
HEADLINE: ‘Recovery Czar’ Michael Whatley Caught On Audio Wanting To End FEMA As Western NC Is Owed Billions [Cardinal & Pine, 7/30/26]
When Asked About If He Supported Abolishing FEMA, Whatley Claimed That He Suggested To Trump To Do So. According to Cardinal & Pine, “At a May 20 event in Brunswick County, Michael Whatley, the Republican nominee for the US Senate, was asked by an attendee about abolishing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The moment was captured in an audio recording that you can listen to here. ‘Can we get rid of FEMA?’ a woman is heard asking Whatley. ‘I’ve suggested the president do that,’ Whatley says in response.” [Cardinal & Pine, 7/30/26]