The Trump administration wants to rethink the role of FEMA in disasters. So far, it has mostly “caused a lot of confusion.”
Trump wants FEMA to do after Helen’s reaction in North Carolina
During a visit to Asheville, North Carolina, President Donald Trump said he wanted to abolish FEMA, which was heavily hit by Hurricane Helene.
Employees at the Federal Emergency Management Agency are trained to respond to disasters, but struggled with the situation unfolding at their agency this spring.
While they are deployed to the Los Angeles wildfires and flood the southeast in response to Hurricane Helen along the Kentucky River, FEMA workers have seen a massive cut in staff, budget cuts and threatening disruptions to demolish their agents. They observe difficult questions from friends, colleagues and disaster victims about what the future holds.
“It caused a lot of confusion,” said Michael Cohen, a FEMA veteran who has been 15 years old and resigned from his position as Chief of Staff on the day of inauguration.
Around 6,100 full-time employees of the roughly 2,000 agency are planning to leave or leave under the wave of dismissals and voluntary retirement ordered by Elon Musk’s Government Efficiency Bureau, Coen told USA Today. This does not include the power cuts expected to be made by the federal government in the coming weeks.
President Donald Trump has also cut reviews and funding for agencies for some FEMA grant programs, angering state officials who had already been committed to. The debate draws on a long-term debate about the role of the nation and federal government in disaster response.
It’s difficult to find civil servants who don’t think the way the country responds to disasters can be improved, but it raises concerns about whether FEMA will be able to respond to major disasters during the summer storm season, where full-time staff will be cut by 30% and can lead to hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires.
Jay Inslee, whose term as Washington State’s Democratic governor ended in January, is one of those with significant concerns about FEMA’s ability to respond.
“Gutting FEMA not only does it require more and more families to live under a blue tarp for years, but it also prevents them from receiving the financial aid they deserve when paying their taxes,” Inslee said. “I’m furious on their behalf.”
The state can’t do it alone, workers are exhausted
Major disasters require federal resources, and state and local governments cannot deal with it on their own, said Shana Udvaldi, senior climate resilience policy analyst at the Allied Scientists’ Association
“These attacks on FEMA were not exacerbated as there were dangerous summer seasons with extreme weather, including climate fuel disasters, and they proceeded quickly,” Udvardy said. “Congress must push these terrible plans back in a bipartisan way, and disasters do not discriminate on the basis of politics.”
When huge natural disasters befall the communities, especially the smallest ones, they just don’t have local resources, Inslee said. “Essentially, everyone pitches together from the county to the Red Cross, to the state and the federal government.”
The remaining full-time employees at FEMA are warned that even employees who work at headquarters and don’t normally deploy are ready to deploy in disasters this summer.
Government agencies have been in short supply for years, federal documents show. Staff will flex up and down as the need arises, with around 12,000 employees responding as reserves or temporary local employment.
Among the full-time cuts this year were 200 probation staff, who were rejected because they were recently hired or recently promoted. Cohen said another 800 had taken the “folk-in-road” plan. undefined
“A lot of the people at the agency were exhausted,” he said. “Last year has been a very difficult year for FEMA employees who have received all the disasters that have occurred, as well as all (Hurricane) Helen’s misreports.” In the aftermath of Helen, some FEMA officials discovered their personal information was published on the web, and some people were found to be threatened.
The inauguration ceremony has opened a new chapter. Trump was critical of FEMA during his campaign, and his first official trip was to visit the Helen disaster zone in western North Carolina.
At least 12 staff members were asked to submit tests for the lie detector after information was leaked from an early meeting with new FEMA officials, Coen said.
Employees are afraid to talk to former colleagues. Because they fear they will be exposed to lie detectors, Cohen said. “If the head of the agency is not respected by the secretary’s office, why am I here if he is exposed to the lie detector test?”
Even some of the younger staff members think, “I don’t need this anxiety,” he said.
The role of FEMA in disaster response
FEMA responds to any major natural disaster, assesses damages and provides assistance under pre-established guidelines and state agreements.
In Washington, “FEMA has been an incredible, absolutely essential partner,” Inslee said. “From a ground boot perspective, FEMA was incredibly valuable.”
In recent years, FEMA has seen a significant increase in the number of disasters that require response. That’s part because the number of extreme weather events is increasing, and there are bigger wildfires brought about by more heavy rainfall and climate change, Inslee said. This is backed up by numerous federal reports. The scope and complexity of the disaster is also increasing. Because more people live in vulnerable areas, where they are exposed to storms and fires.
In the current fiscal year, the agency will be financially obligated to 30 major disasters dating back to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, according to its February 2025 monthly report. The actual estimated total obligation for these disasters is approximately $57 billion. This year’s budget officials were $33 million.
FEMA reputation issues
The agency’s reputation is a struggle, partly because FEMA meets people when it is likely to be at the lowest and most hopeless points, partly because its mission is often misunderstood, Cohen said.
FEMA is primarily supposed to serve as a backstop for people who are not insured. If you have homeowner insurance to cover uninsured losses, he said, “You probably don’t qualify.” “It irritates people who feel they’ve done it all right.”
Victims often expect FEMA to be there first, despite having to wait for the state government to request it. That message is often hampered at home by emergency management staff. Emergency management personnel remind residents to store sufficient supplies for five to seven days after a disaster.
The agency’s mission has evolved, and it’s a tightrope walk between trying to fight fraud and not attaching so many rules that you can’t get to where you need it.
State and local officials often refer to the recovery phase as “post-disaster disaster.” The 2022 General Accounting Office report made many suggestions for dealing with the “deficit” in disaster recovery.
Cohen said a prime example of the misconception was complaints from states that the Trump administration recently denied claims of disaster assistance and refused to extend certain assistance from others.
“I’m not personally critical of that,” he said. He added that when the federal government is a large part of its economic responsibility, it often slows recovery, and once new bridges and other infrastructure are completed, other officials and organizations may forget to gain credibility and acknowledge the role of FEMA.
What happens next with FEMA?
By executive order on January 24th, Trump ordered a “full review” of FEMA. The federal response to Helen and others’ disasters “indicating the need to dramatically improve the efficiency, priorities and capabilities of the agency,” his executive order said.
The review council appointees, released on April 28, will be tasked with looking in all aspects of the traditional role of states and citizens in securing disaster aid, life, liberty and property during the period before and after FEMA, and how FEMA can serve as a support agency if the state maintains control of disaster relief. They are expected to make recommendations to Trump for improvement or structural changes to promote national interests and enable national resilience.
Members include Defense Secretary Pete Hegses, Homeland Security, Christa Noem, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Florida emergency management director Kevin Guthrie and Tampa Mayor Jane Castl. Noem already states that he wants to eliminate FEMA.
True socially, Trump said:
Udvardy, along with a coalition of scientists of concern, is among many who agree that there is room for reform in federal agencies. Real reforms should be informed by science, expertise and the experiences of disaster survivors,” she said.
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking. Atlantic hurricane season begins just a month away.
Dinah Voyles Purver covers climate change, disasters and the USA Today environment. Contact her at dpulver @usatoday.com or @dinahvp.
