White House officials talk effects of Trump's first 100 days for North Carolina business, recovery
WASHINGTON (WTVD) -- As President Donald Trump prepares to mark 100 days in office for his second term, ABC11 was among a select few local news stations at the White House to talk with senior administration officials about the major issues facing the country, including the economy, tariffs, immigration, and Hurricane Helene relief affecting North Carolina
Economy and Tariffs
The Trump administration is touting its economic record at a time when many still feel uncertain, especially amid tariffs creating a difficult trade environment.
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"Inflation is cooling, gas prices are down. That was a key promise that (Trump) delivered to folks in North Carolina," said Anna Kelly, deputy White House press secretary.
As people's worries about their wallets linger, some Trump allies are taking a wait-and-see approach.
"I think it's early," North Carolina Congressman Richard Hudson told ABC11 on the South Lawn. "Let's let this strategy play out. At the end of the day, I think it's going to be good for North Carolina."
While many Triangle companies benefit from global trade and have been hurt by tariffs, Hudson said he believes the tariffs will eventually bring some industries back.
"We need to make more of the stuff we need here at home, manufactured in North Carolina and the United States, so whether you're talking about our farmers having places to sell their products or if you're talking about making high-tech chips, I want to make the chips here," he said.
North Carolina also has a new White House presence in Bo Hines. The former NC congressional candidate and NC State football player is now directing the Trump administration's efforts to expand the use of cryptocurrency nationwide.
His official title is Executive Director of the President's Council of Advisers for Digital Assets.
"We want to be the place that's spearheading the way technology works across the globe, and that's happening under this administration," Hines told ABC11.
He's hoping for more regulation to make the use of currency such as Bitcoin more common, and said he believes North Carolina will play a central role in that.
"When you talk about North Carolina specifically with the Research Triangle, all the tech innovation happening there, not only that, we have banking in Charlotte, so I think these new technologies will be integrated into these ecosystems. We hope to usher that in an expeditious manner," Hines said.
Helene Relief
With several North Carolinians serving as key White House advisors, officials say western North Carolina and Helene relief are constantly in the president's ear.
"The the president has made it priority to ensure that those folks that have truly been left behind over the last few months since the storm ripped through the western portion of our state have been taken care, we know countless folks in the administration have been there to visit and see the damage, but that's something that we're going to keep an eye out as do I being from North Carolina born and raised," Hines said.
Some key Trump advisors told ABC11 they are skeptical of the role of FEMA, calling for the agency to be revamped or to report directly to the White House.
"When I tell you it's a highly bureaucratic mess of an agency, it is. I've lived in and seen in my own congressional district," said Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida.
Donalds, considered a frontrunner to be Florida's next governor, knows well the machinations of living in and rebuilding from a hurricane-prone state.
"That's why I say we need to have change, which is why the president, with his desire to revamp FEMA, is the right approach because it has to be an action agency, because that's what people think it is, an action agency," Donalds said. "But when disaster strikes, then they find out it's just a CYA and bureaucratic mess more concerned with budgets than getting people back on their feet."
He argued that states needed to play a bigger role in storm recovery.
Back in Raleigh, the legislature did pass more than $500 million in Helene relief, less than the governor initially wanted, but far less than the overall amount needed to cover the damage in western North Carolina.
ABC11 also asked Hudson what's being done at the federal level for additional Helene relief.
"We now have resources from a federal perspective to rebuild roads, rebuild the community, we have weekly meetings to talk about the needs and make sure we're all working together as a delegation to take care of the folks in western North Carolina," he said.
Hudson says the North Carolina congressional delegation is still working on getting an aid package through Congress to the president's desk.
Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Ted Budd, R-NC, said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) had approved North Carolina's Action Plan for $1.4 billion in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding for western North Carolina. Budd was part of a bipartisan effort calling on the Trump administration to expedite consideration of the grant.
"After Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina, we have been working tirelessly to rebuild homes, businesses, and infrastructure across the region," Budd said. "Earlier this month, I was proud to lead a bipartisan majority of North Carolina's congressional delegation in urging the Trump administration to deliver the critical funding our communities need. Just last week, Secretary Scott Turner announced North Carolina has been awarded $1.4 billion to jumpstart the rebuilding process. This life-changing investment will provide real relief to the thousands of families who suffered from Helene's destruction. I am grateful to the Trump administration for answering our call, acting swiftly, and demonstrating their commitment to our state's recovery."
Immigration
Ahead of the president's 100 days, the North Lawn of the White House was dotted with posters, each showing pictures of people who unlawfully entered the United States that had been arrested during the second Trump administration who are accused of more violent crimes, including sexual assault and rape.
ABC11 spoke one-on-one with the president's "border czar," Tom Homan, whose official title is White House Executive Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations. Homan noted that their tough immigration stance is working.
"Especially the criminals who cross the border, they don't stay in Texas and Arizona they go throughout the entire United States, so I think with the border as secure as it is, you're going to see less fentanyl overdose deaths, which I think affects every community and less illegal alien crime," Homan said.
Recently, the Trump administration has faced criticism for targeting legal, though temporary immigration, specifically students.
Multiple international students from UNC, NC State, and Duke were among those having their visas revoked, only for some to have them reinstated.
"I know there's a problem with the computer system that they've addressed," Homan explained as the reason for some of the revocations.
"But bottom line is, if you come here to study, you come here on a visa, there are certain rules you got to follow," Homan added. "If you break the rules, you're gonna go home.
Homan noted that the government still has the power to revoke the visas at any time.
ABC11 also asked about H1B visa holders, who typically include trained and skilled immigrants who make up a large portion of medical and scientific positions in the Triangle at places like Research Triangle Park.
Homan said the administration supports lawful entry, including those highly trained workers, as it cracks down on illegal immigration.
"President Trump supports legal immigration. We want talent coming into the United States," Homan said. "In his first term, he had a proposal to come into the country based on merit, but there's still room for moms, sons, daughters, and families," Homan said. "But as I said many times, we got to plug the hole first, and when you look at who we're bailing out, we're concentrated on public safety risks and the data proves it."
