President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Western North Carolina on Friday to visit locals impacted by Hurricane Helene in late September.

The president and other U.S. officials — as well as some local residents — have scrutinized the federal government’s response to the devastation in the months since Sept. 27, when Helene destroyed large swaths of the Appalachian region, and killed more than 100 people in North Carolina alone. 

“Throughout the transition, both President Trump and Vice President Vance repeatedly reached out to me to check in on how Western North Carolina was doing,” Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis told Fox News Digital in a statement ahead of the president’s visit. “That is a testament to how high of a priority the recovery and rebuilding process is for them. President Trump’s visit on Friday is welcome news for the thousands of families dealing with a state of uncertainty when it comes to securing housing.”

Republican North Carolina Sen. Ted Budd similarly told Fox News Digital that he spoke to “the president and members of his team over the weekend, and the people of Western North Carolina are among his top priorities.”

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“They need a Rebuilder-in-Chief who can cut through the red tape and get folks what they need as quickly as possible, and President Trump will do just that. The people of Western North Carolina will not be forgotten by me or the president,” Budd said.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wave as they board Air Force One, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., for a trip to North Carolina and California. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Some residents continue to sleep in tents and campers despite freezing temperatures. Thousands of others staying in hotel rooms funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through its Transitional Housing Assistance (TSA) program faced the possibility of being booted out of those rooms in early January as the TSA deadline loomed.

HURRICANE HELENE FORCES NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENTS TO SLEEP IN TENTS WHERE HOMES ONCE STOOD

Displaced by Hurricane Helene, married couple Victoria and Jeff display a sign that reads, “Need help, lost everything in the flood,” in Asheville, N.C., on Oct. 29, 2024. (YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)

FEMA officials changed their tune this week, however, after receiving criticism and extended the deadline to May 26.

More than 3,000 families are eligible for the program’s extension, according to FEMA. More than 10,000 households accepted temporary shelter in hotels participating in the TSA program in the aftermath of the hurricane, FEMA said last month, but most have since moved to longer-term housing.

Some people in hard-hit areas like Swannanoa and Burnsville, or in hard-to-reach places nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, are still living in tents or RVs where their homes once stood. (Cajun Navy 2016)

“The Democrats don’t care about North Carolina. What they’ve done with FEMA is so bad. FEMA is a whole [other] discussion, because all it does is complicate everything,” Trump said Wednesday in an exclusive interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, his first White House interview since his inauguration.

“So, I’m stopping on Friday. I’m stopping in North Carolina – first stop – because those people were treated very badly by Democrats. And I’m stopping there. We’re going to get that thing straightened out because they’re still suffering from a hurricane from months ago,” the president continued.

U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump (R) walk out from the White House to board Marine One on January 24, 2025 in Washington, DC. The president is traveling to North Carolina, California, Nevada and Florida over the weekend. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

Gov. Josh Stein’s office said he will be meeting Trump on the tarmac when the president arrives.

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Trump previously visited in October 2024 before the presidential election.

Jonathan “JP” Decker, executive director of nonprofit recovery organization Mercury One, told Fox News Digital that the president’s visit will be a “blessing” to the people of Western North Carolina.

Trump previously visited in October 2024 before the presidential election. (Getty Images)

Mercury One has donated everything from RVs to propane for Hurricane Helene survivors recovering from the deadly disaster. The nonprofit also stepped up to pay for hotel rooms for those who were about to lose their TSA vouchers from FEMA this month.

“Western North Carolina was left alone.”

— JP Decker, Mercury One

“I’ve been there multiple times. I saw one FEMA truck,” Decker said. “So, when they finally heard from the president of the United States that … we’re going to help you, and the fact that [Trump is] coming in town on Friday is going to be a huge blessing just to finally see someone who’s looking around taking the notes of, wow, nothing has changed.”

FEMA EXTENDS TRANSITIONAL HOUSING PROGRAM FOR NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENTS DISPLACED BY HURRICANE HELENE

A FedEx worker delivers packages to a trailer on Dec. 23, 2024, in Old Fort, N.C. The trailer was given to a Marine veteran from the Department of Veterans Affairs. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

Decker, who has responded to multiple natural disasters and other humanitarian crises with Mercury One, said he has “never seen anything like what I’ve seen in Western North Carolina of just no clearing out of the debris.”

“We’ve helped support a lot of families to just stay in hotels because FEMA had threatened to drop or just didn’t communicate to drop their … hotel vouchers,” Decker said. “FEMA was thinking of doing that, and then we stepped in and provided care for them. But these kids who have to go to school every day and have to see that … it’s devastating because these families have had no help, and they’ve had to figure out: What do we do after this?”

WATCH: NC LOCALS WAIT IN LONG LINES FOR PROPANE

FEMA said people checking out of their temporary housing are returning to habitable homes or have withdrawn from FEMA assistance.

“Under President Biden, FEMA’s failure to act and communicate swiftly put vulnerable families at risk with freezing temperatures outside,” Tillis told Fox News Digital. “Despite our continued pressure, FEMA made little progress in providing direct housing solutions for those most affected by Helene. Things will be changing under President Trump, and his visit shows his Administration is committed to the people of Western North Carolina as he promised during the campaign.”

AMERICANS SPENDING THANKSGIVING IN TENTS AS HEAT, ELECTRICITY, FOOD STILL HARD TO FIND

Kris Weil is sleeping in a tent outside his home that was destroyed during Hurricane Helene. (Fox News Digital)

Tillis said he looks “forward to working with the Trump-Vance Administration to ensure that every available federal resource is deployed and that red tape preventing families from accessing housing is eliminated.”

Trump announced on his first day in office that he would visit North Carolina and California amid devastating natural disasters in both states.

He made implicit reference to areas of the Smoky Mountains decimated by Hurricane Helene, claiming Democrats had abandoned the Tar Heel State in the wake of the historic storm that affected parts of North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

Fox News’ Charles Crietz contributed to this report.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday pushed Republican state lawmakers to take urgent action on illegal immigration, voting to fight like a “junkyard dog” and warning of political consequences for defiance.

The governor leaned on the Florida legislature ahead of a special session next week, during which he wants legislators to pass new bills to crack down on illegal immigration in sync with President Donald Trump’s administration at the federal level. But GOP leaders have called the session “premature” and signaled that they may gavel out without taking action on the governor’s agenda items.

DeSantis warned that would be a costly mistake. “It would be very, very hazardous politically,” he told reporters during a roundtable discussion at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. He also suggested that he would call for another special session of the legislature if GOP leaders delay action.

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“I have my constitutional authority to wield in this process and I will continue to wield it as appropriate so that we’re able to get the job done,” he said, adding that he would fight like a “junkyard dog” to get his immigration policies enacted. 

“You don’t let go.” 

DeSantis wants Republicans to enact laws that would require state and local officials to comply with the new immigration orders issued by the White House and provide funding for them to do so. He has also called for legislation that would penalize state and local officials who violate Florida’s “anti-sanctuary policies,” WPTV reported. 

The governor also directed lawmakers to consider additional hurricane aid, crack down on ballot initiative signature fraud and address rising HOA fees. 

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The White House recently announced that “deportation flights have begun” in the U.S. (White House)

House Speaker Daniel Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton reacted coolly when the governor called for a special legislative session starting on Jan. 27. In a joint statement on Jan. 13, they called it “irresponsible” for the legislature to act ahead of any announcements Trump may make on immigration and criticized DeSantis, stating the governor had offered only “fragmented ideas” and had not released any bill language or details for legislators to consider.

Lawmakers “will decide when and what legislation we consider,” the Florida House and Senate leaders said. 

Trump has already issued a flurry of executive orders to begin the promised “mass deportations” of illegal immigrants present in the U.S. On Monday, Trump declared an emergency at the southern border, deployed 1,500 soldiers to the border and ended the Biden administration’s CBP One app program to process migrants at ports of entry via humanitarian parole. 

His administration then launched a mass deportation operation, with ICE agents active in multiple cities and states across the U.S.

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President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Monday.  (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has also issued memos rescinding limits placed on ICE by the Biden administration, ordering a review of parole and expanding the use of expedited removal for recently-arrived illegal immigrants.

And Trump’s administration has moved to restore border wall construction and reinstate the Remain-in-Mexico policy, which requires migrants to stay in Mexico for the duration of their asylum cases.

These combined policies have resulted in a sharp 35% drop in illegal immigrant encounters at the southern border, multiple DHS sources told Fox News Digital. 

DeSantis rejected the concerns of the legislature, telling reporters on Thursday that “we’ve been waiting years for this moment. It’s not premature.”

“We can’t drag our feet. We can’t wait for something to go into effect in July. We need something immediately and we need to get everything moving, and we need to do what we told the people that elected us that we would do.” 

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were photographed Friday boarding Air Force One for the first time in four years. 

Trump and his wife — who was wearing a green jacket and aviator sunglasses — were seen getting onboard the aircraft at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.  

The president is heading to North Carolina to survey damage from Hurricane Helene last September. 

NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENT CALLS FOR ‘LARGER FEDERAL RESPONSE’ TO HELENE DAMAGE AHEAD OF TRUMP VISIT 

“We’re going to North Carolina. It’s a horrible thing, the way that’s been allowed to fester. And we’re going to get it fixed up. Should have been done months ago from the hurricane that took place almost four months ago,” Trump told reporters after leaving the White House. “North Carolina has been treated very badly.” 

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Trump and the first lady are welcomed by Air Force Col. Angela Ochoa, second right, on arrival to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Friday. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

“So we’re stopping there and we are then going to go to Los Angeles and take a look at a fire that could have been put out if they let the water flow but they didn’t let the water flow, and they still haven’t for whatever reason. So, I think we’re going to have a very interesting time,” Trump added. 

Trump boards Air Force One as he departs for North Carolina. (Leah Millis/Reuters)

Trump was last photographed stepping off Air Force One on Jan. 20, 2021, while Joe Biden was being sworn in as president that day.