WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, North Carolina Senators Thom Tillis and Ted Budd issued the following joint statement:

Our National Guard and local, state, and federal first responders on the ground have been working tirelessly to respond to this disaster with the resources they have. Given the unprecedented extent of the devastation and complexity of search and rescue operations, it would be helpful to assign an active-duty military leader who has extensive experience with operations of this magnitude to lead moving forward.