Even President Donald Trump’s appointed panel to diminish the Federal Emergency Management Agency agrees that the organization is too crucial to kill—but that won’t stop Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from butting in.
According to The Associated Press, Noem “nuked” a FEMA Review Council report that detailed how the agency could operate more independently rather than being dismantled, chopping the report down from more than 160 pages to a mere 20.
Flooding is seen in Asheville, North Carolina, following Hurricane Helene in September 2024.
The council broke rank with Trump’s goal of shuttering the program and instead suggested that it be given more power. But when the council recommended elevating FEMA to a Cabinet-level office, Noem pared it down to essentially just a grant-writing operation.
A source told the Washington Post that Noem also recommended that FEMA only take on 50% of disaster-related costs, forcing states to cough up the other half. The agency currently covers anywhere from 75% to 100% of those costs—terms that Trump’s Republican-led council supports.
Parts of the report also gave suggestions for FEMA to send funds more quickly to states in need—a change from the current process of reimbursing states. It also pushed to discontinue sending funds to states more than a decade after being hit by a disaster.
And the council’s findings don’t come from nowhere. According to the Post, members spent months interviewing people—including those in tribal and rural areas—about their needs. In their findings, retaining FEMA made the most sense.
But all of these suggestions stand in stark contrast to Noem and Trump’s plans for the agency.
“I'll also be signing an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA—or maybe getting rid of FEMA,” Trump said in January after Hurricane Helene. “I think, frankly, FEMA is not good. I think when you have a problem like this, I think you want to go and, whether it's a Democrat or Republican governor, you want to use your state to fix it and not waste time calling FEMA.”
Still, most of his 10-person council—which includes elected Republicans, Noem, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and an insurance CEO—disagree. Ultimately, the report will only stand as a suggestion for whatever Trump decides to do, but the disconnect between Noem and the rest of the council highlights a bigger divide.
Volunteers search for missing people after flooding in Texas on July 6.
Noem would often butt into council meetings to suggest changes, like moving FEMA’s headquarters to Texas. But more so than that, she can’t even seem to keep qualified department heads in line with her mission.
In May, she ousted acting FEMA head Cameron Hamilton after he disagreed with her plans to overhaul the program. Hamilton was replaced with David Richardson, who—despite his lack of experience in disaster response—would follow and enforce Noem’s orders.
“Don’t get in my way,” he told FEMA staff in May. “I will run right over you. I will achieve the president's intent."
But Richardson quickly made it blatantly obvious that he isn’t capable of carrying out the job duties when he told the press that he had no clue there even was a hurricane season.
And after showing up to a flood-ravaged Texas wearing a straw hat and cowboy boots, he eventually stepped down after six months on the job.
The final FEMA report won’t be handed to Trump until December, but if the internal quarreling says anything, it’s that Trump and Noem’s desires don’t reflect those of America.
