Americans with backgrounds in the military and law enforcement have stepped up to help save hurricane survivors in North Carolina without the assistance of the federal government.
"FEMA's out of money. They just announced it. … We've got money to put everywhere else on the globe — this administration does — but we don't have the money inside of FEMA, a federal emergency management, to help our citizens here in the United States," Aaron Negherbon, founder and CEO of Cops Direct, told Fox News Digital.
The comments come as relief efforts continue in North Carolina, a state with widespread devastation from Hurricane Helene.
But those efforts have also become a political hot potato as the election nears, with critics widely panning the federal government’s response to the natural disaster.
"They’re offering them $750 to people whose homes have been washed away," former President Trump said at a rally in Pennsylvania over the weekend. "And yet we send tens of billions of dollars to foreign countries that most people have never heard of. They’re offering them $750. They’ve been destroyed. These people have been destroyed."
The criticism came after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warned last week that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) "does not have the funds to make it through" the hurricane season, prompting a stopgap measure by lawmakers to replenish the agency’s Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) with $20 billion, according to a report from National Public Radio.
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris has argued critics of the administration’s response have been pushing "disinformation."
"There’s a lot of mis- and disinformation being pushed out there by the former president about what is available, in particular to the survivors of Helene," Harris said. "It’s extraordinarily irresponsible: It’s about him, it’s not about you. And the reality is that FEMA has so many resources that are available to folks who desperately need them."
Negherbon said his and other organizations have opted to "step in and aid our fellow Americans when they need help."
RESIDENTS IN KEY NORTH CAROLINA DISTRICT REVEAL HOW THEY THINK THEIR COUNTY WILL VOTE IN NOVEMBER
"I can tell you that my phones are ringing, and my email is chiming all day long because of the requests from agencies that need our support," he said. "One jurisdiction, one county, one community is hearing about what Cops Direct is doing, and, all of a sudden, they're telling the next county over and, therefore, our phone is ringing."
One way Cops Direct and others have been helping is by flying much needed emergency supplies to residents who have been cut off by the storm with many roads and traditional paths to homes being washed away and inaccessible.
Ross Johnson, owner of TacMed, a company that makes emergency medical supplies for use on the battlefield and for law enforcement, told Fox News Digital he used his skill as a pilot and a vast network of other pilots to help rush supplies to those affected by using helicopters.
"There was no way to get anywhere. So I said, 'Hey, let's see what we can do,'" Johnson, a former Army Green Beret who served three tours in Afghanistan, said.
Johnson said FEMA has not been operating in the same areas he has been helping, though he noted that the agency is likely helping in other places.
"I'm not saying they're not doing anything. I'm sure they have a role. And we know that they're a big organization that has a response time. … It takes time to move that machine," he said.
Instead, Johnson said he has focused his efforts on areas where his skill as a pilot can be most beneficial.
"We're in the mountains," Johnson said. "Places accessible by helicopter."
Johnson also noted the people undertaking the effort to assist those in North Carolina are volunteering their time and effort and their own resources in hopes of making a difference for those who have had their lives upended by the natural disaster.
"It really is people that just want to do good. You know, we're locals. We know the area. These are our neighbors, and we have a way to help them. And that's what we're trying to do," he said. "We're not Uber Eats. … We aren't making money on this. We're just a couple of guys with access to some assets that are the right tool for this job, at least at this point in time."
The White House did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
