Less than two months before the official start of hurricane season, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the nation’s primary disaster-response agency, is facing an uncertain future. Employees throughout FEMA have expressed concerns to WIRED about a rapid decline in tools, external partnerships, and practices. There is also the looming threat of staffing reductions and the departure of senior staff, which could have serious implications for the agency’s effectiveness as the country approaches the summer. Some FEMA staff members, speaking anonymously due to restrictions on speaking to the media, shared these concerns.
One FEMA employee noted that while no significant changes have occurred yet, it may not take much to disrupt disaster response efforts. “We are being set up for a really, really bad situation,” the employee stated.
FEMA was created in 1979 as an independent agency through an executive order by President Jimmy Carter and was later placed under the Department of Homeland Security following the 9/11 attacks. The agency’s expenditures have increased significantly in recent years due to costly disasters such as Hurricanes Ian, Ida, and Helene, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic.
FEMA has long been a target of conspiracy theories, but its response to Hurricane Helene last year intensified scrutiny, particularly when former President Donald Trump, influenced by right-wing figures, spread misinformation regarding the agency’s actions during the storm. This placed political pressure on FEMA as Trump commenced his second presidency.
In the initial week of his term, Trump signed an executive order to establish a council to review FEMA’s handling of past disasters and assess its current preparedness. This order criticized the agency’s effectiveness, priorities, and competence. In late March, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem publicly stated at a cabinet meeting that FEMA might be eliminated. According to reports from Politico and The Washington Post, Noem subsequently unveiled plans to reduce FEMA’s functions to immediate disaster response by October and to place it under the jurisdiction of the White House.
Geoff Harbaugh, FEMA’s Associate Administrator of the Office of External Affairs, communicated via email to WIRED that “unlike the previous administration’s inadequate response to natural disasters like Hurricane Helene, the Trump administration is committed to ensuring Americans affected by emergencies will receive prompt and efficient assistance.” He also emphasized that all operational and readiness requirements would continue to be managed without disruption, in close coordination with local and state officials in anticipation of the 2025 hurricane season. Harbaugh asserted that emergency management is most effective when led by local and state authorities.
The composition of the review council established by the White House remains uncertain, aside from Noem and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who serve as co-chairs. Some lawmakers have claimed they were asked to join, although no official list of members has been released. The executive order issued in January mandates that the council meet by April 24; however, their only action to date appears to be soliciting public comments to understand the public’s experiences with FEMA during disasters. At a late March meeting, CNN reported that Noem and other officials discussed the possibility of rescinding the executive order that created the council. WIRED reached out to FEMA for a list of council members and updates about their meetings but did not receive those details.
