‘Big Discussion’ Coming on FEMA’s Future: Trump

The logo of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at its headquarters in Washington, in this file photo. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump suggested changes may be coming to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) because he would rather see states handling disaster response rather than the federal government.

When asked about the agency by Fox News’s Sean Hannity in a Wednesday interview in the White House, Trump was critical of FEMA’s response to natural disasters in recent years.

“FEMA has not done their job for the last four years … but unless you have certain types of leadership, it’s really, it gets in the way,” Trump said. “And FEMA is gonna be a whole big discussion very shortly, because I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems.

“I love Oklahoma. But you know what? If they get hit with a tornado or something, let Oklahoma fix it. ... And then the federal government can help them out with the money.”

Trump added that his administration “had FEMA working really well” because “we had hurricanes in Florida. We had Alabama tornadoes.”

In the interview, he did not preview what FEMA-related actions his administration might take.

During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump lodged criticism at the agency, overseen by the Department of Homeland Security, for its response to Hurricane Helene after it created devastation across the southern United States and particularly western North Carolina. In his inaugural speech, Trump made reference to the disaster in North Carolina as well as the wildfires that devastated Los Angeles earlier this month.

“Our country can no longer deliver basic services in times of emergency, as recently shown by the wonderful people of North Carolina, who’ve been treated so badly, and other states that are still suffering from a hurricane that took place many months ago,” Trump said on Monday shortly after he was sworn into office.

Following hurricanes Helene and Milton, which slammed into Florida weeks after Helene, there were reports that had surfaced claiming that FEMA disaster relief officials were told to avoid homes displaying signs that were supportive of Trump. Later, a FEMA official who was fired, Marn’i Washington, told several news outlets that she was being scapegoated for an agency-wide policy, while the former FEMA director claimed that wasn’t the case.

“I want to be clear to all of my employees and the American people, this type of behavior and action will not be tolerated at FEMA, and we will hold people accountable if they violate these standards of conduct,” then-FEMA Director Deanne Criswell said in a statement last year.

But Washington told NewsNation in November 2024, “Firstly, I’m being framed,” adding, “I was simply following orders.”

Earlier this month, Homeland Security’s Inspector General’s office confirmed in a letter to two Republican lawmakers that FEMA is being audited over concerns its employees avoided homes with Trump signage.

Aside from that controversy, former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas drew criticism after saying his agency needed more funding for the remainder of the 2024 hurricane season following Milton and Helene.

Some Republicans, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, had argued that FEMA lacked resources because it had dedicated hundreds of millions of dollars to offset the costs of illegal immigration in major U.S. cities. In response, FEMA released what it called a “fact” webpage, which is still online as of Thursday, that said FEMA has “adequate funding” and that funding for “humanitarian services to noncitizen migrants” does not “come out of FEMA’s funding.”

Earlier this month, Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.), who represents a district that suffered major damage during Helene, called on FEMA to be overhauled with a new director.

“First of all, we need a new director, a new administrator, and we’ve got to change the culture of FEMA,” Edwards told The Hill. “There’s too much government bureaucracy and not nearly enough caring about the folks that they should be tasked to help.”

Currently, Cameron Hamilton is serving as the senior official performing duties as the FEMA administrator, according to the agency’s website.