Ted Budd finally stood up to the Trump administration, and guess what, it worked.

Editor's note: The following column appeared in The Charlotte Observer, September 15th.

U.S. Sen. Ted Budd finally showed some much-needed backbone this week.

In an uncharacteristically bold move, Budd raised concerns about the Trump administration’s delay in releasing Helene relief funds to North Carolina, even vowing to block the confirmation of all Department of Homeland Security nominees until the issue was addressed.

It was a significant step for a senator that’s been a staunch ally of the president and rarely breaks with his party on any issue. And it seemed to work, because that very same day, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced it would release $12 million of the requested reimbursements. Two days later, Donald Trump announced he would approve nearly $32 million in assistance for North Carolina.

 It’s something that North Carolina sorely needs. Nearly a year after Helene hit western North Carolina, the federal government has paid for less than 10% of the estimated damage from the storm. In most cases, the funding has already been approved by Congress, but state and local governments have yet to be reimbursed.

But even when taking a stand, Budd still couldn’t manage to criticize the president himself. Budd believes the blame lies squarely with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who recently implemented a policy that requires her to personally approve any Federal Emergency Management Agency expenditure that exceeds $100,000. That’s created significant delays, given that nearly every Helene-related expenditure exceeds that amount, Budd said, noting that he had repeatedly reached out to Noem’s office but had difficulty getting a response.

 In an interview with McClatchy, Budd emphasized that he does not blame Trump for the situation and doesn’t think that the president should have to get involved.

“President Trump is all about Western North Carolina,” Budd said. “But there are people — between the towns in Western North Carolina and President Trump — that are getting shafted right now, by those in his administration. I don’t think they’re serving Western North Carolina well, and I know they’re not serving President Trump well.”

But as the president, Trump does bear responsibility for the failures of his administration, even if he did not directly cause them. Just as Republicans held Biden accountable for his administration’s missteps, they should hold Trump accountable for his. Besides, Trump made a promise to western North Carolina immediately upon taking office. He unfairly and incorrectly criticized the Biden administration for its response to the disaster and vowed that with him in the White House, it would be better. That promise has yet to be fulfilled, because his quest to make government more efficient has actually slowed it down. As Budd himself said, “stonewalling states that are hurt by hurricanes is not the way to get rid of waste, fraud and abuse.”

Of course, none of this should have been necessary in the first place. As Gov. Josh Stein said this week, “you shouldn’t have to fight your own government to do right by the people of western North Carolina.” It shouldn’t take political pressure to achieve something that should have already happened. A recent analysis from the Associated Press found that Trump is taking longer than past presidents to approve federal funding in response to natural disasters. That’s held true in North Carolina — Trump just this week approved aid for Tropical Storm Chantal that Stein asked for more than a month ago.

Budd did the right thing by taking a stand, and it resulted in a better outcome for North Carolina. Budd isn’t normally one to make waves in Congress — at least not publicly. But this should encourage him to do so more often, especially when it can actually make a difference. He should also keep in mind that sometimes doing the right thing for his constituents might require him to be critical of the president. He shouldn’t shy away from that, because his primary loyalty should be to those he was elected to represent.

Paige Masten is an opinion writer and deputy opinion editor for McClatchy’s North Carolina opinion team.