Politics

(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency denied North Carolina’s request for the agency to match 100% of the state funds for Helene cleanup, according to a letter sent from the acting FEMA administrator to the governor of North Carolina.

“After a careful and thorough review of all the information available, including that contained in your initial request for a cost share adjustment and appeal, we have concluded that an extension of the 100 percent federal cost share for debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance for an additional 180 days under major disaster declaration FEMA-4827-DR is not warranted,” acting Administrator David Richardson wrote in the letter.

The cost-sharing request comes from a Biden administration directive to match 100% of the funds that the state puts in to share costs of the disaster cleanup after Hurricane Helene devastated the state as a Category 4 storm in September 2024.

Over 230 people were killed by the storm, with at least 72 in Buncombe County, North Carolina, alone, amid record flooding throughout western North Carolina

Traditionally, there is a cost-sharing model with a 75% federal absorption of costs to 25% for states, but that was changed under the Biden administration to match the costs 100%.

It is unclear how FEMA would split costs between states and the federal government for future disaster relief.

In a statement, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein said the denial will cost state residents “hundreds of millions of dollars.”

“The money we have to pay toward debris removal will mean less money towards supporting our small businesses, rebuilding downtown infrastructure, repairing our water and sewer systems and other critical needs,” he said.

The funding debate is occurring as the Department of Homeland Security weighs how to eliminate the agency while still giving states funding for disasters.

At the center of the plan is Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who has personally weighed how to cut the agency.

“The president has indicated he wants to eliminate FEMA as it exists today and to have states have more control over their emergency management response,” Noem said on May 8, adding that the agency has “failed” in its mission and should be eliminated or downsized. “He wants to empower local governments and support them and how they respond to their people,”

FEMA has not responded to ABC News’ request for comment.

Still, an internal review of FEMA this month indicated the agency is “not ready” for the 2025 hurricane season.

“As FEMA transforms to a smaller footprint, the intent for this hurricane season is not well understood, thus FEMA is not ready,” the review said, citing staffing limitations, hiring and a lack of coordination with states as the Trump administration attempts to reorganize and diminish FEMA.

The decision comes as the United States anticipates above-average hurricane activity on the Atlantic coast this year, with between 13 and 19 named storms expected.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is swearing in Jeanine Pirro as the interim U.S. attorney for D.C. during a ceremony in the Oval Office Wednesday afternoon — making her the latest Fox News host appointed by Trump.

Earlier this month, Trump tapped Pirro — a former judge and prosecutor who most recently hosted Fox News’ “The Five” — for the job after controversy around his previous pick, Ed Martin.

Martin, who had served as D.C.’s interim top prosecutor, lost GOP support for the job. Martin’s past, specifically his defense of Jan. 6 rioters and inflammatory rhetoric around the Capitol attack, plagued his nomination.

Pirro, a Trump ally, faced her first test as the top federal prosecutor in Washington last week when she spoke about the response to the deadly shooting of two Israeli Embassy staffers.

During a news conference, Pirro said her office is investigating the case as a hate crime and act of terrorism.

“A young couple at the beginning of their life’s journey, about to be engaged in another country, had their bodies removed in the cold of the night in a foreign city in a body bag. We are not going to tolerate that anymore,” Pirro said during a press briefing last Thursday. “Antisemitism will not be tolerated, especially in the nation’s capital.”

Pirro marks the latest Fox News personality to join the ranks of the Trump administration. Some of the most notable Fox News alumni appointed in Trump’s second administration include Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who hosted “Fox & Friends Weekend,” and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, who hosted “Unfiltered With Dan Bongino” before he left the network in 2023.

Pirro has been a longtime ally of Trump, dating back to her time as a prominent prosecutor in New York. She was an early supporter of his 2016 campaign and publicly defended him during the “Access Hollywood” tape scandal.

One of Trump’s final acts before leaving office in 2021 was issuing a last-minute pardon to Pirro’s ex-husband, a longtime GOP donor.

With less than an hour before his term ended, Trump granted one final pardon to Albert Pirro, who was convicted more than two decades ago on 34 counts of conspiracy and tax evasion after he was found to have improperly deducted over $1 million in lavish personal expenses in tax write-offs for his businesses.

ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and Will Steakin contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump will swear in Jeanine Pirro as the interim U.S. attorney for D.C. during a ceremony in the Oval Office Wednesday afternoon — making her the latest Fox News host appointed by Trump.

Earlier this month, Trump tapped Pirro — a former judge and prosecutor who most recently hosted Fox News’ “The Five” — for the job after controversy around his previous pick, Ed Martin.

Martin, who had served as D.C.’s interim top prosecutor, lost GOP support for the job. Martin’s past, specifically his defense of Jan. 6 rioters and inflammatory rhetoric around the Capitol attack, plagued his nomination.

Pirro, a Trump ally, faced her first test as the top federal prosecutor in Washington last week when she spoke about the response to the deadly shooting of two Israeli Embassy staffers.

During a news conference, Pirro said her office is investigating the case as a hate crime and act of terrorism.

“A young couple at the beginning of their life’s journey, about to be engaged in another country, had their bodies removed in the cold of the night in a foreign city in a body bag. We are not going to tolerate that anymore,” Pirro said during a press briefing last Thursday. “Antisemitism will not be tolerated, especially in the nation’s capital.”

Pirro marks the latest Fox News personality to join the ranks of the Trump administration. Some of the most notable Fox News alumni appointed in Trump’s second administration include Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who hosted “Fox & Friends Weekend,” and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, who hosted “Unfiltered With Dan Bongino” before he left the network in 2023.

Pirro has been a longtime ally of Trump, dating back to her time as a prominent prosecutor in New York. She was an early supporter of his 2016 campaign and publicly defended him during the “Access Hollywood” tape scandal.

One of Trump’s final acts before leaving office in 2021 was issuing a last-minute pardon to Pirro’s ex-husband, a longtime GOP donor.

With less than an hour before his term ended, Trump granted one final pardon to Albert Pirro, who was convicted more than two decades ago on 34 counts of conspiracy and tax evasion after he was found to have improperly deducted over $1 million in lavish personal expenses in tax write-offs for his businesses.

ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and Will Steakin contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration on Tuesday filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to lift what it called “onerous” due process procedures imposed by a federal judge for immigrants slated for deportation to a third country other than their own.

Solicitor General John Sauer told the court in the filing that a nationwide mandate issued last week by Judge Brian Murphy of the District Court of Massachusetts has created a “diplomatic and logistical morass” that is imposing “significant and irreparable harm” on the government’s efforts to remove criminal aliens.

After a group of detainees said to be headed to South Sudan sued over their alleged inability to raise fears of torture, Judge Murphy issued a preliminary injunction halting any future removals unless detainees were given notice of their destination, at least 10 days to raise concerns for their safety, and 15 days to contest an adverse finding by an immigration officer.

The temporary order applies universally to any individual slated for removal to a third country. The government is required under international law to ensure that migrants in its custody are afforded protections under the Convention Against Torture, of which the U.S. is a signatory. The Trump administration insists it has been in compliance.

“Based on what I’ve learned,” Judge Murphy said during a hearing last week, “I don’t see how anybody could say that these individuals had a meaningful opportunity to object. If I was in any of those groups and I was going to be deported to South Sudan, I would need an opportunity to investigate that and to be able to articulate a well-founded fear about why being returned to South Sudan would be would result in torture or death. The department did not do it. In this case, they did not offer any opportunity to object.”

Sauer told the justices Murphy’s move exceeds his authority, “jeopardizes the public interest,” and has upended sensitive diplomatic and national security negotiations with third countries. He said all of the detainees to be removed have already received adequate due process and had final orders for removal entered.

“The district court’s invented process offers little but delay. While certain aliens may benefit from stalling their removal, the Nation does not,” he wrote.

As part of its aggressive push to remove unlawful or criminal immigrants, the Trump administration has pursued third-country partners willing to accept those who will not be taken back by their home countries.

Hundreds of migrants in recent months have been sent by the U.S. to the CECOT prison in El Salvador even though they are not Salvadoran nationals. The administration has also sought removals to several African nations.

The Supreme Court — increasingly thrust to the center of escalating disputes over aspects of Trump’s immigration policy — has unanimously ruled that all non-citizens on U.S. soil must be afforded “due process of law”

“Detainees are entitled to notice and opportunity to be heard appropriate to the nature of the case,” the justices unanimously stated last month in a per curiam (unsigned) opinion.

The specifics, however, remain contested. Legal scholars say the type of “notice” and “hearing” historically afforded depends on an immigrant’s status and circumstance, such as whether they had been lawfully admitted to the country in the first place, have deep ties to the community, or are seeking asylum.

The court is also currently weighing the ability of individual federal judges to issue binding nationwide orders, blocking the government from executing a policy. After Trump issued an executive order ending birthright citizenship — and three district court judges issued injunctions against it — the administration asked the high court to issue definitive guidance the matter. A decision is imminent.

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(WASHINGTON) — After hearing the news that President Donald Trump will pardon reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who served time for tax evasion and bank fraud, their daughter, Savannah Chrisley, in a video on Instagram posted on Tuesday, celebrated the news.

“The president called me personally as I was walking into Sam’s Club and notified me that he was signing paper pardon paperwork for both of my parents,” Chrisley said in the Instagram video. “So both my parents are coming home tonight [Tuesday] or tomorrow [Wednesday], and I still don’t believe it’s real. I’m freaking out — the fact that the president called me.”

“I will forever be grateful for President Trump, his administration and everyone along the way, all of my lawyers, the people who put in countless hours and effort and love for my family to make sure that my parents got home,” the 27-year-old continued.

Chrisley emphasized that her parents now get a “fresh start” thanks to the pardon.

“My parents get to start their lives over… President Trump didn’t just commute their sentences, he gave them a full unconditional pardon. So for that, I am forever grateful,” Chrisley said.

Savannah Chrisley had previously appealed to the Trump administration for pardons for her parents and spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention.

The couple, who became famous for their show “Chrisley Knows Best,” were sentenced in November 2022 to a combined 19 years in prison on charges including fraud and tax evasion.

Todd Chrisley was sentenced to 12 years in prison and 16 months of probation while Julie Chrisley was ordered to serve seven years in prison and 16 months of probation. The couple was also ordered to pay $17.8 million in restitution.

“Chrisley Knows Best” premiered in 2014 and followed the lavish lifestyle of wealthy real estate developer Todd Chrisley and his family.

The charges against the Chrisleys stem from activity that occurred at least as early as 2007, when the couple allegedly provided false information to banks and fabricated bank statements when applying for and receiving millions of dollars in loans, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

In 2014, two years after the alleged bank fraud scheme ended, the couple is accused of fabricating bank statements and a credit report that had “been physically cut and taped or glued together when applying for and obtaining a lease for a home in California.”

In a phone interview with ABC News on Tuesday, Savannah Chrisley told ABC News the call from Trump came “totally out of the blue.”

“I kind of had gotten to a place where I had lost hope, and just felt like nothing was going in my favor. And then I got the call … It was just a shock, and the president was so kind and loving. He’s the reason my family is coming back together,” Chrisley said. “I have always stood by him and his administration, and I will continue to stand by them and fight for them.”

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(WASHINGTON) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday announced the removal of the COVID-19 vaccine from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s immunization schedule for healthy children and pregnant women — a move that could alter guidance for doctors as well as some insurance coverage.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(WASHINGTON) — The White House General Services Administration is expected to send a letter to federal agencies on Tuesday asking them to “identify any contracts with Harvard, and whether they can be canceled or redirected elsewhere,” a senior administration official told ABC News.

The move comes as President Donald Trump continues his attack on the school as the university has not complied with the administration’s demands over providing data on its international students. It comes after the president announced over the weekend that he is considering allocating $3 billion away from Harvard to other trade schools, the latest in his battle with the Ivy League school.

Harvard filed a lawsuit against the administration last week over the order that prevented the school from admitting international students.

The administration argues in the letter, obtained by ABC News, that being a contractor of the federal government “comes with the deep responsibility and commitment to abide by all federal laws and ensure the safeguarding of taxpayer money.”

The letter goes on to allege that Harvard “continues to engage in race discrimination, including in its admissions process and in other areas of student life” — some of the diversity, equity and inclusion practices that the Trump administration has worked to curtail.

The letter also alleges that the university has “potential discriminatory hiring practices and possible violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.” The letter also takes issue with what they say is Harvard’s “disturbing lack of concern for the safety and wellbeing of Jewish students,” according to the administration official — a reference to instances of antisemitism on campus.

The letter says that agencies should “consider its contracts with Harvard University and determine whether Harvard and its services efficiently promote the priorities of the Agency.” It also instructs agencies to have a list of contracts with the university and the action the agency will take on it by June 6.

“We recommend that your agency terminate for convenience each contract that it determines has failed to meet its standards, and transition to a new vendor those contracts that could be better serviced by an alternative counterparty. Going forward, we also encourage your agency to seek alternative vendors for future services where you had previously considered Harvard,” the letter adds.

The school hasn’t immediately commented about the letter.

The New York Times first reported the letter.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

ABC News’ Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — The White House General Services Administration is expected to send a letter to federal agencies on Tuesday asking them to “identify any contracts with Harvard, and whether they can be canceled or redirected elsewhere,” a senior administration official told ABC News.

The move comes as President Donald Trump continues his attack on the school as the university has not complied with the administration’s demands over providing data on its international students. It comes after the president announced over the weekend that he is considering allocating $3 billion away from Harvard to other trade schools, the latest in his battle with the Ivy League school.

The New York Times first reported the letter.

Harvard filed a lawsuit against the administration last week over the order that prevented the school from admitting international students.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Monday granted an unconditional pardon to a Virginia sheriff who had been convicted of federal bribery charges and sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.

Scott Jenkins, who had been the sheriff of Culpeper County, Virginia, was set to report to jail on Tuesday.

“Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife Patricia, and their family have been dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden DOJ,” Trump wrote in a statement on Truth Social. “In fact, during his trial, when Sheriff Jenkins tried to offer exculpatory evidence to support himself, the Biden Judge, Robert Ballou, refused to allow it, shut him down, and then went on a tirade.”

“As we have seen, in Federal, City, and State Courts, Radical Left or Liberal Judges allow into evidence what they feel like, not what is mandated under the Constitution and Rules of Evidence,” he added. “This Sheriff is a victim of an overzealous Biden Department of Justice, and doesn’t deserve to spend a single day in jail.”

Jenkins faced a jury trial in late 2024 but wasn’t sentenced until March 2025 under the Trump administration. Acting U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Lee, who represented the U.S. government, and therefore the Trump administration, in the case, is still serving as the acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia.

Trump praised Jenkins as “a wonderful person, who was persecuted by the Radical Left ‘monsters,’ and ‘left for dead.’ This is why I, as President of the United States, see fit to end his unfair sentence, and grant Sheriff Jenkins a FULL and Unconditional Pardon. He will NOT be going to jail tomorrow, but instead will have a wonderful and productive life.”

Jenkins was convicted by a jury in December 2024 on charges including one count of conspiracy, four counts of honest services fraud and seven counts of bribery concerning federally funded programs.

Lee wrote in a March sentencing memo that Jenkins repeated violated the public’s trust “by exploiting his official powers for personal gain.”

“After he was caught, he sought to manipulate the judicial process and to evade responsibility for his crimes by lying to the Court and the jury,” Lee added.

“In sum, Jenkins’ lies and abuses of power in the instant case are not an aberration,” he said. “Since his early days in law enforcement, Jenkins has displayed a shocking disregard for his ethical and legal responsibilities.”

The Department of Justice had said in a press release in March that he had received over $75,000 in cash payments for “appointing numerous Northern Virginia businessmen as auxiliary deputy sheriffs within his department.”

“Scott Jenkins violated his oath of office and the faith the citizens of Culpeper County placed in him when he engaged in a cash-for-badges scheme,” Lee said at the time.

“We hold our elected law enforcement officials to a higher standard of conduct and this case proves that when those officials use their authority for unjust personal enrichment, the Department of Justice will hold them accountable,” he added.

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