Trump Says Camp Lejeune Victims Get ‘No Money’ If GOP Loses Midterms
At a Tuesday rally in Greenville, N.C., the president tied Justice Department payouts for toxic-water claims to Republicans keeping Congress. Democrats pushed back hard.
President Donald Trump said the Justice Department will have “no money” for victims of contaminated water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune if Republicans lose the midterm elections. He made the remarks Tuesday evening at a campaign rally in Greenville, North Carolina.
“If we win the House and Senate, I am directing the Department of Justice to settle all remaining legitimate claims as soon as possible,” Trump told the crowd at Pitt-Greenville Airport, in remarks captured in a clip shared on X. “If we don’t win, there’s no money.”
He promised a fast end to the long-running saga. “If we do win, you’re getting it,” he said. “It’s gonna be finally over with that nightmare that’s been going on for so many years. We will never abandon the heroes who served America.” He added that he wanted the money to go “to the families, not to the lawyers.”
Drinking water at Camp Lejeune was contaminated with toxic chemicals for decades, roughly from 1953 through 1987. About 1 million Marines, family members and civilian workers are believed to have been exposed. Many later developed serious illnesses, including cancer. Congress opened the door to compensation with the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, passed in August 2022 as part of the PACT Act, which let victims file claims in federal court.
Trump said his administration has already delivered about $1 billion in cash settlements. Justice Department figures put payouts above $879 million and offers above $1.1 billion as of September, covering the program since it began in 2023. The Navy has received roughly 408,500 claims. Fewer than 1% of claimants have been paid, and most claims are still working their way through the process.
North Carolina Democrats pushed back quickly. Gov. Josh Stein wrote on X that conditioning settlements on the election result was foul: “Real leaders fight for the people, not for power.” Rep. Deborah Ross called the remarks “repulsive” and asked why, if the president has the power to speed up settlements, he had not done so since taking office. The veterans group VoteVets called it “desperate and disgusting behavior.”
Trump announced no executive order and no changes to the claims program. Nothing in the law ties the claims process to election outcomes, and the settlement machinery — cases in federal court plus a Justice Department settlement option — has been running since 2023.
The pledge follows a string of similar election-conditioned promises. On Tuesday, the Agriculture Department announced about $8 billion in harvest relief payments for farmers, and Trump has repeatedly tied federal money and attention to Republicans holding Congress on Nov. 3.
