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I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you. We start off with some pretty significant progress in a story we covered earlier this week on the Carolina Journal News Hour. The Lumbee Tribe, as of this morning, is just one signature away from full federal recognition. This is after both the United States House and Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act, also known as the NDAA, which includes the recognition provision.
According to President Donald Trump's public calendar, he will be signing the NDAA around 6 p.m. this evening.
So when we are together and join you again tomorrow morning, we will have the NDAA fully signed. And in all likelihood, unless something dramatic happens over the span of the day today, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina will officially have full federal recognition. Representative John Lowry, the Republican out of Robinson County, who is also the chairman of the Lumbee Tribe, called the recognition long deserved in some posts on social media, saying, quote, After decades of struggle, advocacy, and prayer, we are now just one step away from the full recognition our people have long deserved. I thank God for this moment and for the strength and unity of our Lumbee people across generations. Lowry noted the significance of this coming to fruition, saying, This is not the end.
However, it is a new beginning. With recognition come new opportunities for economic growth, improved health care and education, and a stronger voice for our tribe in shaping the future of Indian country. To our ancestors who began this fight and to every Lumby child today, this victory is for you. One of the lead spearheaders of this effort in the United States House is Congressman David Rauser. He is the Republican out of the 7th congressional district.
He said in a press release, passage of the Lumbee Fairness Act affords the Lumbee people the full benefits and services long afforded to other federally recognized tribes. I am proud to have worked with my colleagues to make this a reality. This achievement would not have been possible without the steadfast leadership of Chairman John Lowry and the strong support of President Donald Trump. The Lumbies' voice has been heard, and their commitment and perseverance has brought us to this historic moment. Congressman Rauser did also release a video on social media about the Lumbee tribe.
And after it passed the Senate yesterday, before it as it headed to the desk of President Donald Trump, this is what Congressman Rauser had to say on social media. Hello, I'm Congressman David Rauser and I'm here to report some historic news from our nation's capital today. The Lumby Fairness Act just passed the United States Senate.
Now it had already passed the United States House.
So that means the bill is going to go to the President for his signature. The Lumby Fairness Act is going to be the law of the land.
So first I want to thank President Donald Trump. for his support and his advocacy. We wouldn't be here today without his help. I also want to thank Chairman John Lowery. Chairman of the Lumbee Tribe.
who has done an incredible job. been very persistent. Very determined. and work really, really hard to make this day a reality. You should be proud of him.
All the Lumbee people should be so proud of John Lowry's work, and they should be proud of themselves for all that they have done. to make today a reality. I also want to thank Senator Tom Tillis. who has been so valiant in his efforts. to see us to this day.
Send her Tedbud as well. My colleagues in the house. particularly in the North Carolina delegation. who worked so hard on this. And I also want to thank former Senators Elizabeth Dole, and Richard Byrne.
Both of them worked very hard while they were serving in the United States Senate. to achieve Lumby recognition.
So we wouldn't be here today without the help of many, many people. I want to thank them all. And I want to wish the Lumbee and everyone else a very Merry Christmas. That's Congressman David Rauser, the Republican out of the 7th congressional district, which does include the vast majority of Robeson County, where the Lumbee tribe is headquartered and where many of the Lumbee people live.
So, those are the comments there from Congressman Rauser.
Now, just kind of how we got here: back in January of this year, President Donald Trump signed a memorandum directing the Secretary of the Interior to submit a plan to him and his office to assist the Lumbee Tribe in obtaining full federal recognition. And that pretty much brings us to where we are today. United States Senator Ted Budd, who you just heard there from Congressman Rauser, said, for nearly 50 years, the Lumbee tribe has fought for the same rights and benefits over other federal recognized tribes receive. Today, with the passage of this year's National Defense Authorization Act, the fight is over and the more than 60,000 members of the Lumbee tribe will begin the process of receiving the benefits that they deserve. I want to thank Senator Tillis for his strong leadership of the North Carolina delegation as we fought this provision and his underlying dedication to the recognition of the Lumbee people throughout his time in the United States Senate.
Senator Tillis, also commenting on the situation as well, saying for 137 years, the Lumbee tribe have been fighting for federal recognition, and today the federal government has finally honored that promise. President Trump traveled to Robeson County and pledged to get federal recognition done. He kept that promise and showed extraordinary leadership. With the Senate passage of the NDAA, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina will now achieve full federal recognition and access to every federal benefit they have earned and deserved. Senator Tillis held a virtual press conference on Wednesday, not long after the NDAA was officially signed in the United States Senate, passed in the Senate, I should say, heading over to President Donald Trump's desk.
And he was asked by reporters about some of the efforts by other individuals, including the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina, to block the Lumbee Tribe, the Lumbee Fairness Act over decades. Senator Tillis didn't hold back much in terms of his words. I've called them the casino cartels. I mean, the Lumbee tribe has a very well-documented history. And the Cherokee, the eastern bed of the Cherokee, the Choctaw Indians of Mississippi, and other Tribes, I think, were trying to protect their interests.
And they would use all kinds of false narratives saying that the Lumbee were fake Indians or that it would cost too much money. There was always something that at the end of the day either prevented the House or the Senate from getting it done. And we've worked hard to educate members about the history of the Lumbee. That's Senator U.S. Senator Tom Tillis, as this appears to be crossing the finish line.
Again, the National Defense Authorization Act, which is passed yearly, has this provision, as we've been talking about, that would grant the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, predominantly in Robeson County, full federal recognition. It has passed the House. It has passed the Senate. And according to President Donald Trump's public calendar, as of this morning, That legislation will be heading to his desk, and he will sign it a little right around 6 p.m. this evening.
And then we will begin the process of watching what this full federal recognition looks like for the Lumbee Tribe here in North Carolina. We will have continued coverage of this as the president signs it later today. And if the president comments on the Lumby, the Lumbee tribe, which there's probably a pretty strong notion that he will, this is something that he campaigned on, has discussed it very frequently when he was in North Carolina back in 2024. Regardless of where he was in the state, he talked about getting this full federal recognition for the Lumbee people. We'll see if he's got any comments from the Oval Office tonight.
We'll bring those details to you on our website, CarolinaJournal.com, and the latest coming up for you Friday morning right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. This is Matt Rogers from Los Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. This is Bowen Yang from Los Culturalistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. Hey Bowen, it's gift season. Ugh, stressing me out.
Why are the people I love so hard to shop for? Probably because they only make boring gift guides that are totally uninspired. Except for the guide we made. In partnership with Marshalls, where premium gifts meet incredible value, it's giving gifts. With categories like best gifts for the mom whose idea of a sensible walking shoe is a stiletto.
Or best gifts for me that were so thoughtful I really shouldn't have. Check out the guide on marshalls.com and gift the good stuff at marshalls. Uh Um It's 5:20. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour on Charlotte's FM News Talk 107.9 FM, WBT. Don't forget, if you miss any portion of our program live here weekday mornings on WBT, you can check out the Carolina Journal News Hour podcast.
It's available in Google Play, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, anywhere you get your shows. Search for the Carolina Journal News Hour, tap the subscribe or follow button, and you'll get a new show delivered each and every weekday morning. You can also watch the show live and on demand by visiting our Carolina Journal YouTube channel. That link is over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. Core, that's the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency.
It was spawned after Hurricanes Matthew and Florence left a pretty big swath of destruction in the eastern half of North Carolina. And over the last eight or nine years, it has been nothing but a complete and total mess in terms of the state agency. To walk us through some new details this morning on a new report out from state auditor Dave Bollock's office and a recent hearing with the North Carolina General Assembly, Teresa Opeka joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Teresa, we've talked about NCOR in the past. This is not, unfortunately, a new story that we're passing along to our audience this morning.
However, we have some more insight now as to what went wrong multiple years ago in the state of North Carolina. What's the latest that you're following? Yeah, good morning, Nick. Thanks for having me. It's definitely nothing new.
Going over some of the, you know, from what we've already heard over the past few years with different hearings that have come up on ENCORE. But state auditor Dave Bollock did release a report on Wednesday and appeared at a The General Assembly hearing on Thursday to outline the report. Talk about what went wrong, also, some recommendations as well. Basically, You know, this all occurred from Hurricanes Matthew and Florence 2016, 2018. NCORE was created in 2018 by former Governor Roy Cooper to help with the rebuilding process from those hurricanes.
And what Auditor Bollock called, you know, those were disasters, and NCOR was a third disaster. He beat no bones about that during the hearing. And also said this has been a logistical nightmare for all the families that are involved. I mean, there's people. Still Who do not have a home nearly a decade later?
It's getting better, but there's still many who do not have a home. In fact, we found out on Thursday that Representative Carl Gillespie of McConnell County said there are still 328 families in the program. And 74 of those homes will most likely not be completed by the end of the year, despite a promise from NCOR's new director, Pryor Gibson. He became director at the end of last year.
So, still waiting on the completion, things have gotten better. But It's still kind of a a mess at this point. I mean, Teresa, you would almost have to suspend reality to get yourself into the mindset that almost 10 years after Hurricane Matthew affected portions of eastern North Carolina. People who have been living in hotel rooms or rental houses being shuffled back and forth. I mean, there's no other way to describe this, but an abysmal failure of state government.
Oh, most definitely. You know, I mean, going through some of the things that Auditor Bullock had in the report. Um Basically, nearly $785 million was paid to vendors without any reconciliation or oversight. Uh And also NCORE spent more, of course, or one of the top line figure, more than a billion of taxpayer money. That included seven hundred nine million from CDBG money from the federal government and also two hundred ninety seven million from state appropriations.
And and the money, you know, the Well, not money. The process for people when they went through was an eight-page Step. Like people had to fill out eight pages, jump through hoops to get all this stuff done. Each step, he said, took a minimum of 100 days. Grant determination took another two and a half years.
And then finally, it was four years before anybody started work on a house. Four years after that process. It's just an unbelievable situation. We've heard a lot. I said information before, but there's been new information like this being revealed during the hearing and the press conference he had on Wednesday.
It's unbelievable. Yeah, and the report is very lengthy, Teresa. And again, as you noted, we have gotten some little sneak peeks into what's been going on behind the scenes at ENCORE. But this new audit from Dave Bollock's office, it's 509 pages, I think, is the exact number on it. It is a very lengthy report, and it walks through essentially step by step how we got into this issue.
One of the things that I found almost unbelievable was that the state and NCORE spent $25 million getting an instance of Salesforce set up. Teresa, once they set that up, they still weren't tracking payments correctly. Mismanagement of funds all over the place. Remarkable that you could spend that much money setting up a piece of software and then just frankly not use it. And as state auditor Bollock noted in a Wednesday press conference, never bothered training anybody how to use it either.
What a waste of money. Yeah, yeah, it was. It was. But he says, you know, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. I think that's the old saying, you know, it's a good program.
It just wasn't used correctly. And he said, actually, that's the equivalent to almost how much his office gets on a yearly basis for appropriations.
So imagine 25 million.
So, yeah, just a waste of money. And they had two other programs as well. I want to backtrack on one thing, talking about the families and all the process they were going through. They spent nearly $75 million on temporary housing for these families. That's an average of $230,000 per household.
That could have built a house for somebody. You know, and that was brought up in the hearing on Wednesday by Senator Buck Newton of Wilson County. He basically said the same thing. You could build houses for that amount of money.
So you got Salesforce, you got the temporary housing money that was used. Again, it's just, you want to call it a train wreck. It was really a train wreck.
Well, and not only if Teresa, could you have used that money to rebuild houses? I mean, the state could have just cut these people checks and said, go buy a brand new house. At the time before the housing market got so inflated, and many of these rural eastern North Carolina counties, where a lot of those 328 homes that still need to be repaired, I would imagine those are probably in more rural areas of eastern North Carolina. These individuals could have just bought houses. The state could have cut them checks, and we would have been done with this seven years ago.
But here we are. And as you just reported, the idea that some of these individuals still will not be back in either their original homes that have been rehabilitated or brand new homes when the calendar flips over to 2026 is a miserable situation. Yeah, it most definitely is. I know Prior Gibson did also testify at Thursday's hearing said that they are hopeful, this is stressing hopeful, that they will have all of this completed by next October before the end of the next legislative session. That is what that's coming from him.
So stay tuned for that. But yeah, I mean. At this point, people should all be back in their homes or or new homes at this point. We'll continue the conversation with Teresa Opeka from CarolinaJournal.com coming up after this. You're listening to the Carolina Journal News Hour.
This is Matt Rogers from Los Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bo and Yang. This is Bo and Yang from Los Cultureistas with Matt Rogers and Bo and Yang. Hey Boen, it's gift season. Ugh, stressing me out. Why are the people I love so hard to shop for?
Probably 'cause they only make boring gift guides that are totally uninspired. Except for the guide we made. In partnership with Marshalls, where premium gifts meet incredible value, it's giving gifts! With categories like best gifts for the mom whose idea of a sensible walking shoe is a stiletto, or best gifts for me that were so thoughtful I really shouldn't have. Check out the guide on marshalls.com and gift the good stuff at Marshalls.
It's 5:35. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour on Charlotte's FM News Talk 107.9 FM. WBT, I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you. We are continuing our coverage this morning of a brand new audit out from state auditor Dave Bollick's office looking at NCORE.
That's the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency. Teresa Opaca from CarolinaJournal.com joins us. Teresa, this is, of course, incredibly relevant. You know, it's important to, of course, look at the past, look at what happened, and try and highlight some of this information. Absolutely.
But we then flip over to the other side of the state. We've got Western North Carolina a little more than a year ago, absolutely obliterated by Hurricane Helene. The state has a new entity set up called Grow NC. I would imagine a lot of folks are wondering. Seven, eight, nine, 10 years from right now, are we going to be having these same conversations about the failure of this entity?
The state does not have a good track record with these programs. No, it most definitely doesn't. And that's what Auditor Bullock talked about. He did say, you know, he did talk about Grow NC a little bit, you know, saying they still need some time to actually go through the process and see how they're going to be doing before he was going to take a look at it. I think they also have had some hearings in the legislature about it.
But he said, you know, we had the one entity, NCOR, now you've got GROW NC. And if we have another disaster come up in the future, are you going to have a third entity? He said, that would be ridiculous, but you're right. We see how this they're going to be doing out there in Western North Carolina. Maybe lessons learned from the mess here in eastern North Carolina with NCOR.
Yeah, so it's the old time will tell thing, but hopefully. People have heard enough about this in the last few years and have learned a few lessons from it.
Well, and the other reason that this is incredibly relevant is earlier this year, we heard some rumblings up in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C. that the Trump administration might look at essentially dissolving FEMA and turning it into nothing but a grant writing facility, meaning that there would be no FEMA employees that are on the ground in the immediate aftermath of a storm. It would be state or local officials with funding from the federal government. Teresa, if you set that situation in North Carolina right now, I don't think folks would have a lot of confidence that the state could handle something like that. You're right.
I don't think they would either. Just like you just said, the track record that the state has. And I believe that the one who was overseeing FEMA at the moment, he quit this week or last week in D.C.
So, yeah, but to leave it to North Carolina to handle all on its own at this point, I don't think that, I really don't think the state's ready. I think they're, you know, all of this is good. These are all positive steps. And that's what Auditor Bolick said, too. He says, you know, this is an all-pointing fingers.
He says he wants to be proactive and get things moving in the right direction so we don't have another problem like this in the future. But at this point, I don't think the state is 100% on board to handle this themselves. And, you know, people do want the backing from the federal government when it comes to things like this. I mean, it's just. Yeah, right now it's just it would not be a good situation for the state to take all this on on its own.
And Teresa, I think it is important to note, however, that other states have been able to manage this.
Now, of course, geography is very different. Florida would, of course, be the example that you would look at. Florida has more hurricanes more often than North Carolina does. And so they're obviously a little bit more adept at dealing with that. But even just to our south, in South Carolina, they dealt with very similar impacts from Hurricanes Matthew and Florence.
Teresa, these same issues are not happening in the Palmetto state this morning. No, they're not. In fact, I did a story last year. It was a two-part series or earlier this year about how other states compare to North Carolina for hurricane recovery. We did spotlight South Carolina and Florida, and they've done phenomenal jobs.
There was somebody who was, I think it was Colonel Sanderson. He was part of a project in South Carolina, testified early on at one of these NCOR hearings and said what NCOR was doing wrong and what they did right. Not being obnoxious about it, but just giving proactive steps to say, you know, this is what you could do. I think they get some guidance from him later on. We talked to a professional in Florida about what they have done for, you know, he helped out with Hurricane Katrina, a lot of lessons learned from that.
And, you know, all the different steps that could be taken. Even in this article that we have this morning on CarolinaJournal.com, we went back for an article we had previously. How many times that there was help being given to NCORE, and they refuse to listen or refuse to take any suggestions.
So, yeah, other states have done a really good job with it. This is obviously going to continue to be a major situation to follow. Not only the folks in the East that are still the 328 individual households that are still waiting to get back on their feet and get back into their homes, but as we watch some of the recovery and relief efforts out in western North Carolina. Teresa, thanks for all the information and insight this morning. We greatly appreciate it.
You can get additional coverage over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. Teresa Opeka joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour. And keeping our thread on hurricane recovery and things relating to natural disasters, earlier this week, back on December the 15th, U.S. Representative Tim Moore, he is the Republican out of North Carolina's 14th congressional district, introduced House Resolution 6639. This is called the Streamlining Authorization for Listed At-Risk Marine and Aquatic Natural Disaster Emergency Resources, or the Salamander Act.
That's the acronym for this legislation. The bill would expedite the permitting process for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for recovery work following a natural disaster. U.S. Representative Chuck Edwards, the Republican out of North Carolina's 11th congressional district, is also a co-sponsor.
Congressman Moore said in a recent press release: after Hurricane Helene, recovery efforts in western North Carolina hit bureaucratic delays that slowed down critical work like dredging. and debris removal. The Salamander Act cuts through that red tape so that communities can start rebuilding immediately while still protecting vulnerable habitats. This legislation would allow the Corps of Engineers to fast-track certain permits for natural disaster recovery projects. It would include things like cleaning debris and dredging rivers.
This post-disaster recovery work is set up to protect lives and property and is urgently needed, according to congressional representatives.
However, the permits usually take months due to all of the environmental reviews, according to the press release from Congressman Moore. Chuck Edwards told the Carolina Journal, Western North Carolina experienced firsthand how delays in the federal permitting process can hold up disaster recovery when communities need it the most. The Salamander Act gives the Army Corps of Engineers the ability to fast-track permits for critical recovery projects like dredging and debris removal, allowing work to begin immediately after a disaster is declared. General permits can now be issued in advance by the Corps of Engineers. That's pretty substantial.
Think about that. There's the thought, there's the idea, forecast, show. That a major natural disaster like a hurricane or tropical storm is set to affect an area across the United States Then now the Army Corps of Engineers can go forward and get one of those general permits in advance of the storm even affecting the area so they can start working on their game plan that would be following the input from federal environmental agencies to enable immediate recovery work Permits are valid for 18 months.
However, they still must follow strict best practices to protect endangered species and their natural habitats. The bill would also require the Corps of Engineers to work with state wildlife officials to create clear guidelines nationwide, thereby streamlining the process across the country, regardless of what state is dealing, unfortunately, with a natural disaster. The bill reads in part: timely repair and restoration of damaged property and assets after a natural disaster are essential for public safety, economic, and economic, and economic Economic stability and swift return of private property to their rightful owners. We have seen this a lot as it relates to natural disasters in North Carolina. You, of course, a lot of preparation leading up to the storm, and then a lot of red tape, a lot of bureaucratic delays all over the board, whether we're talking about Some of the concerns and frustrations over statewide entities.
We were just talking about NCOR, the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency with Teresa Opeca and the mess that that program has been now for eight or nine years across North Carolina. While things do look to be progressing at least better than they did initially with NCORE out in western North Carolina, there are still a lot of questions and a lot of concern, really, across the board over these disaster relief programs at both the state and federal level. You can read some additional coverage this morning on this House Resolution 6639 being introduced by Congressman Tim Moore, one of the co-sponsors there, Chuck Edwards, the Salamander Act, as it's known. Those details are over on our website this morning, CarolinaJournal.com. You can also head on over to our website and search for NCORE.
That's the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency. We have had a lot of coverage in the last couple of years on NCORE, all of those details over on On our website, CarolinaJournal.com. This is Matt Rogers from Los Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. This is Bowen Yang from Los Culturistos with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. Hey, Bowen, it's gift season.
Stressing me out. Why are the people I love so hard to shop for? Probably because they only make boring gift guides that are totally uninspired. Except for the guide we made. In partnership with Marshalls, where premium gifts meet incredible value, it's giving gifts!
With categories like best gifts for the mom whose idea of a sensible walking shoe is a stiletto, or best gifts for me that were so thoughtful I really shouldn't have. Check out the guide on marshalls.com and gift the good stuff at Marshalls. Good morning again. It's 5:51. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour on Charlotte's FM News Talk 107.9 FM, WBT.
We are tracking really what can only be described as some pretty unbelievable news out of Washington, D.C., as the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, sometime later today, probably around 6 o'clock or so, will officially be fully federally recognized as a tribe in the United States. This is after both the United States House and Senate in the last week and a half or so have passed the National Defense Authorization Act or the NDAA, which includes the recognition provision to grant the Lumbee Tribe that full federal access. Representative John Lowry of the North Carolina House, he represents Robeson County, and he's also the chairman of the tribe, called the recognition long deserved in some posts on social media. He said, after decades of struggle, advocacy, and prayer, We are now just one step away from full federal recognition our people have long deserved. I thank God for this moment and for the strength and unity of our Lumbee people across generations.
He continued in his statement saying, this is not the end, it is a new beginning. With recognition comes new opportunities for economic growth, improved health care, and education, as well as a stronger voice for our tribe in shaping the future of Indian country. To our ancestors who began this fight and to every Lumbee child today, this victory is for you. And this has been a very long process for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina receiving their state recognition back in the late 1800s here in North Carolina. Partial federal recognition back in the 1950s.
Since that period of time, the Lumbee Tribe has been advocating both across the state and in Washington, D.C. for that full federal recognition. And President Donald Trump promised during the 2024 campaign trail that he would make federal recognition a reality for the Lumbee people in Robeson County. And well, promises made, promises kept on that. Back in January, the president has signed a memorandum directing the Secretary of the Interior to submit a plan to walk through how this process would work for the Lumbee tribe in obtaining full federal recognition.
And the vehicle and the avenue for that would appear to be the NDAA. Congressman David Rauser, out of the seventh. Congressional District, which covers the vast majority of the Lumbee tribe here in North Carolina, said passage of the Lumbee Fairness Act affords the Lumbee people the full benefits and services long afforded to other federally recognized tribes. I am proud to have worked with my colleagues to make this a reality. This achievement would not have been possible without the steadfast leadership of Chairman John Lowry and the strong support of President Trump.
The Lumbee voice has been heard, and their commitment and perseverance has brought us to this historic moment.
Some other reaction from the United States Senate, where the NDAA did pass on Wednesday, U.S. Senator Ted Budd saying, for nearly 50 years, the Lumbee Tribe has fought for the same rights and benefits that every other federally recognized tribe receives. Today, with our passage of this year's National Defense Authorization Act, this long fight is over, and the more than 60,000 members of the Lumbee Tribe will begin the process of receiving the benefits that they deserve. I want to thank Senator Tillis for his strong leadership of the North Carolina delegation as we fought for this provision and his underlying dedication to the recognition of the Lumbee people through his time in the United States Senate. Senator Tillis commenting on this as well.
It's something he has talked about for quite some time, but was unable to get over the finish line, except for, of course, right now, he wrote, for 137 years, the Lumbee tribe have been fighting for federal recognition. And today, the federal government has finally honored that promise. President Trump traveled to Robinson County and pledged to get federal recognition done. He kept that promise and showed extraordinary leadership. With the Senate passage of the NDAA, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina will now achieve full federal recognition and access to every federal benefit they have earned and deserved.
Senator Tillis did hold a virtual press conference on Wednesday and was asked by reporters, what was the delay? Why did a process like this take so long? And he wasted no time pointing the finger at other tribes, including the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Here's Senator Tillis. I've called them the Casino Cartels.
I mean, the Lumbee tribe has a very well-documented history. And the Cherokee, the eastern bed of the Cherokee, the Choctaw Indians of Mississippi, and other tribes, I think, were trying to protect their interests. And they would use all kinds of false narratives, saying that the Lumbee were fake Indians or that it would cost too much money. There was always something that at the end of the day either prevented the House. Or the Senate from getting it done.
And we've worked hard to educate members about the history of the Lumbee. That's United States Senator Tom Tillis in a press conference yesterday after the passage of the NDAA in the United States Senate. According to the public calendar for President Donald Trump this morning, he is set to be in the Oval Office at 6 p.m. this evening.
The event reads: The president signs the National Defense Authorization Act.
So, a very strong likelihood, almost complete at this point, coming up later tonight. The Lumbee tribe of Robeson County and North Carolina will receive their full federal recognition. We'll keep an eye on that signing ceremony tonight and bring you the latest over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. That's going to do it for a Thursday edition. WBT News is next, followed by Good Morning BT.
We're back with you tomorrow morning, 5-6, right here on Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 FM, WBT.
