What's the future of FEMA under Trump?

President Donald Trump has put the Federal Emergency Management Agency in his crosshairs. The department is responsible for coordinating relief and rescue efforts in the event of natural disasters, but Trump has often criticized FEMA as ineffective and a waste of money and questioned whether it should exist at all.

Trump has established a council to review the necessity of FEMA. The agency has "managed to leave vulnerable Americans without the resources or support they need when they need it most," claims an executive order signed by the president. It also alleges "serious concerns of political bias" within FEMA and calls for a "full-scale review." The president cannot disband a federal agency without congressional authorization, but his actions have left many worried that Trump could drastically reduce its budget or push to have it shuttered entirely.

What did the commentators say?

Trump's taking aim at FEMA is not new, as Republicans have "previously suggested reducing the amount that states are reimbursed for preventing and responding to disasters like floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and more," said Chris Megerian at The Associated Press. Project 2025, which has been closely linked with members of the Trump administration, had "suggested changing the formula that the agency uses to determine when federal disaster assistance is warranted, shifting the costs of preventing and responding to disasters to states."

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If Trump took this suggestion, the "federal reimbursement rate would be set at 25% of costs for smaller disasters and capped at 75% for larger ones," said Megerian. Presidents can currently authorize the reimbursement of 100% of costs for certain disasters, as former President Joe Biden "did for some costs from Hurricane Helene and the California fires." A request for FEMA aid must come directly from a state's governor asking the president to declare an emergency.

While the "agency could always improve, eliminating it would leave states scrambling to scrounge up resources during crises where time is of the essence," said Marisa Iati and Brianna Sacks at The Washington Post. To "disaster management experts, a better solution to FEMA's inefficiencies would be streamlining processes, rather than eliminating the entire disaster management system with no replacement." States need FEMA to "coordinate federal support, like bringing in the Army Corps of Engineers to remove debris," former FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said to the Post.

The agency's "response to crises is generally strong," said Juliette Kayyem, the chair of the Homeland Security Project at Harvard Kennedy School of Government, to the Post. Trump is correct in that "post-disaster recovery is slow." However, this is an inherent challenge in "communities figuring out what they need to rebuild." Eliminating FEMA would "probably mean more deaths from natural disasters and chaotic response systems in which state officials struggle to marshal resources."

On the other hand, disaster response is "not supposed to be a top-down structure imposed by Washington," Chris Edwards said at the Cato Institute. Congress "should phase out FEMA aid for disaster preparedness, response and relief," and the federal government "should only fill roles where it can add value not provided by the states or private sector." Certain FEMA tasks, such as providing flood insurance, should "be privatized," Edwards adds.

What next?

Democratic lawmakers have hit back against Trump's FEMA attacks. Trump's "threats to get rid of FEMA and GOP House leadership floating conditional aid will hinder relief to Americans who've lost their homes and businesses in wildfires or floods," said Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) on CNN. Eliminating it would "cripple the nation's ability to respond to disasters and remove a critical lifeline for Americans recovering from wildfires, hurricanes, floods and more," Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said on X.

Officials have also tried to tamp down concerns that Trump would disband the agency. FEMA is a "critical agency which performs an essential mission in support of our national security," Cam Hamilton, FEMA's acting head, said in a memo to staff obtained by Reuters.