'Government is in the way' of disaster recovery in North Carolina, California: HUD secretary to Glenn Beck

During a Friday morning interview with Glenn Beck, Scott Turner, the secretary of housing and urban development, blamed the government for slowing down disaster recovery in North Carolina and California.

They discussed the wildfires devastating the Palisades and Altadena areas and Hurricane Helene's impact on Asheville.

'What burdensome regulations do we need to cut so that our people can rebuild?'

Turner told Beck, "It's heartbreaking to see just what the wildfires did, and people lost their homes. Schools were lost; churches were lost."

He explained that he spoke with community leaders to get their side of the story about the recovery process. Turner noted that "burdensome regulations" prevented the locals from rebuilding.

"They want to restore their communities, but the government is in the way. The government has to get out of the way," Turner declared.

He credited faith-based organizations and nonprofits for facilitating most of the recovery, adding that the government has blocked such efforts "with so much red tape" and "bureaucracy."

Turner and Beck discussed the Trump administration's move to stop a draft action plan in Asheville that was infused with diversity, equity, and inclusion elements.

"DEI and the federal government — according to President [Donald] Trump's executive order, DEI is over, and here at HUD, DEI is dead," Turner remarked, referring to the president's day-one executive action to remove DEI from the federal government.

Earlier this week, Turner announced that HUD would not accept the city's draft action plan, citing "DEI criteria as part of how it intends to distribute millions of dollars for Hurricane Helene disaster relief."

He called it "unacceptable" that the plan would have "prioritize[d] some impacted residents over others."

The city stated that it is in "daily communications" with HUD, agreeing to take "proactive steps to resolve any issues and meet federal standards."

"We remain committed to working with our federal partners until final submission of the plan in April," the city said.

"Hopefully their new draft action plan, we can work with," Turner told Beck.

Regarding the wildfire devastation in California, he stated that he instructed local leaders "to take inventory from a local and state perspective."

"What are you doing that is hindering the redevelopment and the rebuilding and the revitalization of the communities? Because I have heard from the people, they want to restore their families, they want to rebuild their businesses and rebuild their neighborhoods, but the government is in the way," Turner stated. "What do we need to get rid of? What burdensome regulations do we need to cut so that our people can rebuild?"

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