WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump named four North Carolinians, including Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, to a committee that will review the federal response to Hurricane Helene and other disasters.

On Friday afternoon, Trump signed an executive order creating the Federal Emergency Management Agency Review Council.

It was the same day he said, on a trip to Western North Carolina, that he was considering eliminating FEMA and leaving state officials in charge of responding to disasters. He also indicated he would put Whatley in charge of Helene recovery efforts.

The council, according to the order, will be made up of no more than 20 members and meet for one year for “a full-scale review, by individuals highly experienced at effective disaster response and recovery, who shall recommend to the president improvements or structural changes to promote the national interest and enable national resilience.”

It will be led by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who were sworn in over the weekend after being confirmed by the Senate last week.

On Monday, Rep. Chuck Edwards, a Republican from Flat Rock announced he and three other Republicans — Whatley, of Gastonia, and Reps. Virginia Foxx of Banner Elk and Tim Moore of Kings Mountain — would serve on the committee.

“It’s an honor to be named by President Trump to the FEMA task force to fix how this broken agency works,” Edwards said in a written statement. “After being on the ground throughout the Hurricane Helene response, it’s clear that an overhaul of FEMA is necessary to more effectively and efficiently respond to natural disasters.”

Both Trump and Edwards have been critical of the federal response to Helene since it made landfall near Perry, Florida, on Sept. 26, as a Category 4 hurricane. The storm carved out a path up the western side of the states on the East Coast before dissipating over Tennessee. It caused widespread damage and killed 219 people across several states. Of those deaths, the official count lists 104 in North Carolina, largely in Edwards’ district.

Trump made his second trip to Western North Carolina Friday since the storm struck the region. It was his first official trip in his second term as president.

“I want to say that we’re very disappointed in FEMA,” Trump told reporters on Friday. “I’d like to put Michael in charge of making sure everything goes well,” Trump said.

Whatley did not return a text message or phone call seeking comment about Trump’s statements, nor did his spokespeople at the Republican National Committee.

Many North Carolina Republicans and their communication teams said they only learned about Whatley’s new role with everyone else when Trump made his statement on television, and didn’t have any idea what Trump had in mind.

It wasn’t until Trump signed his executive order and Edwards put out his statement that details became more clear.

What remains unknown is who else will serve on the committee.

Requests for further information by the White House press office went unanswered.

The executive order specifies that members of the council will not be paid, but can receive travel expense reimbursements.

Edwards said he looks forward to offering his insights to prepare the country for future natural disasters.

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