Washington, D.C. — Today, Senators Ted Budd (R-NC) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) issued statements applauding President Donald Trump for signing a Presidential Memorandum stating that “it is the policy of the United States to support the full Federal recognition, including the authority to receive full Federal benefits, of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.”
The memorandum also directs the Secretary of the Interior to, within 90 days, “submit to the President a plan to assist the Lumbee Tribe in obtaining full Federal recognition through legislation or other available mechanisms, including the right to receive full Federal benefits.”
Senator Budd said in a statement:
“I would like to thank President Trump for keeping his promise to the more than 60,000 members of the Lumbee Tribe in North Carolina who have waited decades for federal recognition. Today’s action underscores the urgent need to pass the Lumbee Fairness Act, which Senator Tillis and I reintroduced earlier this month. We will continue to work with the president, the Interior Department, and my congressional colleagues to get this bill passed and signed into law.”
Senator Tillis said:
“I applaud President Donald J. Trump’s executive order to prioritize the Lumbee Tribe’s fight for full federal recognition and the federal benefits they have long been denied. In September 2024, President Trump made a promise to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina to right the historical wrongs of the Indian Termination Era, and today’s executive order is a major step to correcting that wrong. I remain committed to working with President Trump and the North Carolina Congressional Delegation in a bipartisan, bicameral manner to pass the Lumbee Fairness Act to ensure the Lumbee Tribe’s federal recognition is secure and free from legal obstacles.”
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