Trump Walks Back Talk of Abolishing FEMA
After criticizing the agency for being ineffective for months, the Trump administration now plans to reform it to supplement state disaster response efforts.
Only a month after President Donald Trump said he planned to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after this year's hurricane season, he is now reportedly walking back his plans.
On Friday, The Washington Post reported that "the White House has backed away from plans to abolish the agency." In a statement, Tricia McLauglin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said, "Federal Emergency Management will shift from bloated, DC-centric dead weight to a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief for their citizens. The old processes are being replaced because they failed Americans in real emergencies for decades."
"Changes in the agency will probably amount to a 'rebranding' that will emphasize state leaders' roles in disaster response," per the Post.
The announcement comes after the deadly Guadalupe River flood in Texas on July 4. Heavy rainfall flooded the Guadalupe River, causing the river to rise nearly 30 feet in less than an hour in the early morning of July 4. The flood damaged homes and summer camps, killing at least 120 people, including 36 children. More than 160 people remained missing when Trump and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) surveyed the aftermath of the flooding on Friday.
Since the tragedy, the government's ability to warn and respond to natural disasters has come under scrutiny. Some have blamed agency cuts for impairing emergency response efforts, making people less safe. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D–Fla.) has called for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to be investigated for needlessly delaying the disbursement of funds by requiring personal approval of FEMA resources in excess of $100,000. On Friday, three Democrats from the House Oversight Committee sent letters to FEMA, the Commerce Department's inspector general, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration demanding answers to concerns regarding "the apparent delay in FEMA's response efforts cause by the politicization of the agency and its funding."
Trump's apparent walkback from abolishing the agency marks a stark contrast from earlier this year, when he sharply criticized FEMA's response to Hurricane Helene. While surveying damage in North Carolina in February, Trump floated the idea of ending FEMA and announced his executive order to assess the agency's ability to provide "immediate, effective, and impartial response to and recovery from disasters."
Following the order, the FEMA Review Council was created to "begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA, or maybe getting rid of FEMA," according to Trump. But the council's report containing recommendations to reform federal disaster response won't be released until November. During the wait, Trump and DHS have kept the prospect of abolishing the agency alive, and even ousted the agency's acting administrator, Cameron Hamilton, in May for disagreeing with the president's call to eliminate the agency. However, no official changes to FEMA have taken place.
But now, abolishment looks to be off the table. FEMA may instead be "reformed in ways that best serve the national interest" and "supplement state actions," according to Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman. "President Trump is committed to right-sizing the Federal government while empowering state and local governments by enabling them to better understand, plan for, and ultimately address the needs of their citizens," she added.
The majority of Americans believe the federal government should have a "major role" in natural disaster response. But the specifics of how involved it should be has been an ongoing topic of debate for decades as the number of natural disasters—and the amount spent on recovery efforts—has risen. "In 2018, there were 14 disasters in the U.S. that caused more than $1 billion in damages. In 2024, there were 27," said a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released in March. Congress has appropriated $458 billion for disaster assistance over the last 10 years, according to the GAO.
Despite these massive financial resources, Americans have received suboptimal federal recovery responses from disasters in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Florida, North Carolina, and California. The agency has also been accused of denying aid to political enemies. And now the country's most recent natural disaster along the Guadalupe River, Trump's FEMA has already received criticism for providing too little aid and a delayed deployment of funds to Texas.
Trump's original instinct that the mere existence of FEMA causes unnecessary bureaucratic bloat during times of emergency was correct. While "right-sizing" the agency to empower state and local governments is a step in the right direction, a better approach would be to abolish FEMA altogether.
