Donald Trump suggested shutting down the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) saying that states could do a better job at responding to disasters. “When you have a problem like this, I think you want to go, whether it’s a Democrat or Republican governor, you want to use your state to fix it,” Trump told reporters during a press appearance in Asheville, North Carolina, which was savaged by Hurricane Helene last year. “I think we’re going to recommend that FEMA go away and we pay directly — we pay a percentage to the state,” he added. “The state should fix it.”
Trump: We’re looking at the whole concept of FEMA. I like, frankly, the concept when North Carolina gets hit, the governor takes care of it. When Florida gets hit, the governor takes care of it, meaning the state takes care of it…So we’re going to be doing something on… pic.twitter.com/JVY4q6cISI
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) January 24, 2025
From the New York Times:
Mr. Trump does not have the authority to shutter FEMA, which would require congressional action. Historically, lawmakers from both parties have supported FEMA, knowing that their district or state could need the agency’s help at any time.
Mr. Trump inaccurately characterized FEMA’s role, which is to support state and local officials only if those officials are unable to respond to disasters on their own, and only at the request of a governor.
Disaster response work is “locally executed, state managed and federally supported,” Pete Gaynor, who ran FEMA during Mr. Trump’s first term, said in an interview. The agency is a backstop, not a first responder, he said.
Trump suggested he may shut down FEMA. Here is a graphic showing which states get the most FEMA money. Do you notice anything? pic.twitter.com/4B297kRADM
— PatriotTakes (@patriottakes) January 24, 2025
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