President Donald Trump is promising to speed up compensation for people who say they were harmed by contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune. But at a campaign rally in Greenville, he also tied the future of those payments to the outcome of next month’s midterm elections.
“If we don't win, there's no money. If we do win, you're getting it. It's going to be finally over with that nightmare that's been going on for so many years,” Trump said.
The president said that if Republicans hold on to the House and Senate, he would direct the Justice Department to settle all remaining legitimate claims under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act as soon as possible.
The remarks drew criticism from North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein and Democratic lawmakers, as well as two longtime advocates for people harmed by the base’s contaminated water, Mike Partain and Jerry Ensminger.
“Real leaders fight for the people, not for power. To condition doing the right thing by sick North Carolinians on who wins the election is foul,” Stein wrote on social media.
Partain and Ensminger issued a joint statement rejecting the idea that justice for veterans and their families should depend on political allegiance.
“Justice is not tied to political allegiance! The court trials start next week and will speak for us. Our service members and their families served the United States of America, not one political party or another. Our allegiance is to the constitution we swore an oath to defend,” they said.
Partain, a male breast cancer survivor who was born at Camp Lejeune, has spent decades advocating alongside Ensminger, whose daughter died of leukemia after exposure to contaminated water at the base. Both have pushed the federal government to take responsibility for the contamination.
Previous reporting: Camp Lejeune Justice Act
What the law guarantees — and what it doesn't
The Camp Lejeune Justice Act became law in August 2022 as part of a broader veterans’ health care bill signed by President Joe Biden. The law gave people who lived or worked at Camp Lejeune, or were otherwise exposed to its contaminated water, a way to seek compensation in federal court. That right to sue is written into federal law. A change in congressional control does not, by itself, erase the law or automatically end cases already pending in court.
But the law did not guarantee payment to everyone who filed a claim. Claimants still must meet its requirements, and many have faced years of delays as the government and plaintiffs’ attorneys work through a massive backlog.
In 2023, the Justice Department and the Navy introduced a voluntary settlement program known as the Elective Option. It was designed to resolve certain claims more quickly, using settlement amounts based on a claimant’s diagnosis and time at Camp Lejeune.
The program is separate from lawsuits moving through federal court. Accepting an Elective Option offer is not the same as winning a lawsuit.
At his Greenville rally, Trump said his administration had delivered $1 billion in cash settlements to Camp Lejeune veterans and their families. The Justice Department reported that, as of Sept. 18, settlement offers exceeded $1.1 billion, while actual payouts exceeded $879 million. But the number of claims still awaiting resolution remains substantial. A September report by Roll Call, citing a Justice Department court filing, said 2,822 claimants had been paid out of more than 408,500 administrative claims filed with the Navy — less than 1%.
The administrative claims total does not necessarily represent the number of unique people eligible for compensation, and filing a claim does not guarantee a settlement.
In March, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said the Justice Department had reprioritized settlement approvals at the direction of the president and attorney general. Woodward oversees the department’s Civil Division, which is responsible for defending the federal government in Camp Lejeune Justice Act litigation and handling settlement efforts. Public Radio East asked Woodward to respond to Trump’s comments and explain what could change for claimants after the midterms. His office said he was unavailable for an interview this week and referred questions to the White House.
Read more: Federal court rejects Camp Lejeune settlement calculation challenge as documentation backlog grows
An attorney says the money isn't tied to which party controls Congress
James Foster, an attorney with Fob & Foster, which represents about 700 Camp Lejeune claimants, says the president’s remarks could leave people with a misleading impression about how settlements and court awards are funded. Foster says there is not a separate, fixed pot of money reserved exclusively for Camp Lejeune settlements and verdicts.
“If there's a large verdict or any verdict against the United States, it's paid out of the judgment fund. If there's a settlement agreement for any case against the United States, it's paid out of the judgment fund. And the judgment fund is automatically replenished with funds depending on the amount of judgments that are owed or settlements that are owed by the United States,” Foster said.
He said the funding mechanism is not tied to which political party controls Congress.
Foster also emphasized that the Camp Lejeune Justice Act was passed with bipartisan support. “It was a bipartisan act that was passed. there's been bipartisan support for this the entire time. I would be very surprised if suddenly that changes just because there's a change in administration or a change in Congress,” he said.
Asked what he would tell his clients waiting for justice after Trump’s remarks, Foster called them a campaign statement and urged people to focus on the cases moving through court.
“I would say it was a campaign statement. let's focus on the trials that start on Monday. and let's try to, do a good job with that and keep pushing towards settlement and focus, on what matters and not necessarily on a campaign statement,” Attorney James Foster said.
The first trials are an important milestone in litigation that has been moving slowly since the law was enacted.
Foster said one change he hopes will come after the midterms is passage of the Ensuring Justice for Camp Lejeune Victims Act. The proposal would address several issues in the claims process, including attorney fees and the right to a jury trial. Foster said his firm has followed a policy of limiting attorney fees to 20% for settlements and 25% for trials. He said the proposed legislation would establish requirements for all law firms.
“That act would actually formalize that for all attorneys and all law firms to follow that, as well as allowing the right to a jury trial and clarifying the standard on causation and allowing suits to be brought in other federal courts in both North Carolina and South Carolina,” Foster said.
Foster said losing the right to a jury trial could significantly affect the outcome of cases. “I would say the number one thing that's happened that's important is losing the right to a jury trial because the reality is I think a jury sees these facts on most of these cases and awards a significant amount of money. I mean, I'm not talking $1 million, $2 million. I'm saying it could be $100 million verdict. You know, you could have a billion dollar verdict with a jury because a jury could look at this and for what it is and, you know, actually want to make a difference,” he said.
Foster also questioned the political framing of Trump’s promise, noting that Republicans have controlled Congress for the past two years. “The reality is that Republicans have been in control of Congress for the past two years, and these cases have not settled,” Foster said.
Read more: Camp Lejeune cases move closer to trial
Ross calls Trump's remarks 'cruel, callous, un-American'
Democratic U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross of North Carolina, a co-sponsor of legislation intended to address problems with the Camp Lejeune claims process, strongly criticized Trump’s comments.
“Cold, callous, un-American,” Ross said.
“It was yet another cruel, callous, unAmerican statement by our president that disrespects the service and the sacrifice of our veterans and their families,” said Congresswoman Deborah Ross.
Ross argued that the administration could have made the claims process a priority earlier. “If he really cared about them, he could have done something in his first term before we passed the PACT Act. Then we finally did that. In his second term, he has not made this a priority, nor has (Republican House Speaker) Mike Johnson, where we have a bipartisan North Carolina delegation supporting the Camp Lejeure Justice Corrections Act,” Ross said.
Ross said the proposed legislation has support from both parties and is intended to improve the path to compensation for people harmed by the contaminated water.
“This is a bipartisan piece of legislation. It's me and Congressman (Greg) Murphy, we are the primary sponsors, but then we have other Democrats and other Republicans on this bill in the House. Senator (Thom) Tillis is in favor of it in the Senate, and it has been one of the Republican senators from Alaska, not (Senator Lisa) Murkowski, who has been in the way, and he is up for reelection,” Ross said.
Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska has held the Ensuring Justice Act in committee for well over a year.
Ross said she hopes the first court cases will help establish a clearer picture of what claimants might expect in future settlements. “I am hoping that we will see some really good settlements that will provide the benchmark for what people can expect and then will lead to more and more settlements so that the people who need and deserve justice can finally get compensation for their injuries,” she said.
Ross said she has met with people suffering from debilitating illnesses and believes the long wait for resolution has compounded their hardship. “I met with people who are suffering with seriously debilitating illnesses. I met with survivors. They're in pain and Congress finally did something about it, and our justice system has just not moved quickly enough for them and for the president to dangle this out there when he has had no -- zero -- concern for this in the past...and then we do know that sometimes he says he's going to do something and then he doesn't because he does lie a lot ... is just unconscionable and un-American,” Ross said.
The North Carolina Democratic Party also criticized the remarks, asking Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley whether he considered it acceptable to tie justice for service members and their families to the election. “This isn't a game, it's people's lives,” the party said in a statement.
Read more: The fight moves to the gates: Camp Lejeune water survivors organize Wednesday march for justice
What could change after the midterms?
Congress can pass new laws, control federal appropriations, hold hearings and press the administration for answers about how claims are being handled. A new Congress could also consider legislation affecting the process.
The president, meanwhile, has authority over the executive branch, including the Justice Department. His administration can set priorities for how the department handles cases and pursues settlements, within the bounds of the law.
But the Camp Lejeune Justice Act is already law. A change in party control would not automatically cancel the statutory right to bring a claim or end cases already pending in court.
Trump’s promise to settle all remaining “legitimate” claims also leaves important questions unanswered: how the administration would define those claims, how much it would offer and how quickly claimants would receive payment.
Under the Elective Option, certain claimants can receive offers based on the program’s criteria. Claims outside the program may require a different review or litigation to determine whether the evidence meets the legal standard.
The law’s bipartisan history does not guarantee future agreement or settlements on any particular timeline. But it does show that the legal framework for these claims was created through legislation, not through a presidential campaign promise.
The outcome of the midterms could affect political pressure on the administration and whether Congress pursues further changes. For claimants, the more immediate questions are whether the Justice Department will continue approving offers, how it will handle disputes over those offers and how quickly the court cases can move forward.
Public Radio East contacted Republican Rep. Greg Murphy of North Carolina, who has worked on bipartisan legislation aimed at addressing the Camp Lejeune claims backlog. Murphy’s office did not respond to requests for an interview or comment on Trump’s remarks.
PRE also reached out to outgoing Republican Sen. Thom Tillis but did not receive a response.
For veterans and families who have already waited years, Trump’s promise may raise hopes of faster compensation. But whether it leads to faster payments — and what, if anything, would change if Republicans lose control of Congress — will depend on the administration’s actions, the law and the courts, not just the election result.
