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Trump to Dismantle FEMA After 2025: Let the States Handle It
FEMA faces cuts, confusion, and collapse as Trump vows to hand disaster response back to the states.
sean h
June 11, 2025
In a stunning move that’s already rattling emergency management professionals nationwide, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he plans to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after the 2025 hurricane season. Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump declared that it's time for the federal government to step back and put more responsibility on states to handle their own disaster recovery efforts.
“We want to wean off of FEMA,” Trump said. “A governor should be able to handle it, and frankly, if they can’t handle the aftermath, then maybe they shouldn’t be governor.” 💥
The hurricane season, which officially ends on November 30, is already forecasted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to be one of the most dangerous in recent years. Yet Trump made it clear his administration views FEMA not as essential—but as expendable.
🚨 Shrinking the Safety Net
Trump’s plan marks a dramatic shift in disaster response policy. He’s backed by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department currently oversees FEMA. Noem echoed Trump’s sentiments on Tuesday, declaring that FEMA “fundamentally needs to go away as it exists.”
“FEMA has failed thousands, if not millions, of people,” Noem said. “President Trump does not want to see that continue into the future.”
Instead of FEMA, the administration is building mutual aid agreements among states. These agreements are supposed to enable regions to support one another during disasters—with the federal government stepping in only during the most catastrophic events.
At the heart of this shift is the newly created FEMA Review Council, co-chaired by Noem and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The council is expected to deliver a plan in the coming months to gut FEMA’s scope and rewrite its mission.
🧱 Can States Handle It Alone?
Experts are sounding the alarm. Many current and former FEMA officials, speaking anonymously to CNN, say most states don’t have the budget, manpower, or logistics to manage large-scale natural disasters alone—even with limited federal funding.
“This is an abdication of the federal government’s role,” one former FEMA executive warned. “The idea is to limp through hurricane season and then dismantle the agency.”
And FEMA may already be limping. Since January, the agency has seen significant staff attrition, losing at least 10% of its workforce. By year’s end, it could lose nearly 30%, shrinking from around 26,000 employees to just 18,000. Several senior leaders have already left, creating a leadership vacuum ahead of a potentially devastating storm season.
🧪 Unqualified Leadership?
To make matters worse, FEMA’s new administrator, David Richardson, has no experience in disaster management. A former Marine combat vet and martial arts instructor, Richardson was appointed last month after leading a counter-weapons unit at DHS. Since taking over, he’s brought in a team of homeland security officials, and relegating more seasoned staff to lesser roles.
Earlier this year, Richardson had promised to release an updated hurricane response plan. But last week, he scrapped that idea, telling FEMA staff the agency would stick to the 2024 playbook—and wait for guidance from the FEMA Review Council.
🛑 Delays, Confusion, and Disconnect
Signs of dysfunction are already showing. In several recent cases, President Trump approved disaster declarations—but FEMA didn’t learn about them for days, delaying critical aid to impacted communities. Communication between the White House and FEMA appears to be fraying just as storm season ramps up.
Meanwhile, discussions are underway in the administration to tighten the eligibility rules for federal disaster relief, further limiting what kind of assistance states and citizens can expect from Washington.
“The FEMA thing has not been a very successful experiment,” Trump said Tuesday. “It’s extremely expensive, and again, when you have a tornado or a hurricane or you have a problem of any kind in a state, that’s what you have governors for. They’re supposed to fix those problems.” 🌪️
🌍 What This Means for You
If you live in a hurricane-prone state like Florida, Texas, or the Carolinas, this policy shift could have serious consequences. With a weakened FEMA and less federal support, response times could slow, aid could be delayed, and recovery efforts might fall entirely on local and state governments.
Many fear the real test will come not from a press conference—but from the next major storm.
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