FEMA - Federal Emergency Management Agency

Recent Developments:

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Wed, June 17, 2026:

• Trump’s FEMA Nominee Calls Staff Cuts a ‘Challenge’ for Disaster Agency - NYT

Thurs, May 7, 2026:

• Trump-appointed panel calls for overhauling how FEMA operates. In its final report, the FEMA Review Council seeks to streamline the agency; recommends shifting leadership of emergency response and recovery to the states. - WP

Fri, May 1, 2026:

• It’s Harder Than Ever to Get Federal Disaster Aid. Even in Red States. During President Trump’s second term, the disaster declarations that unlock money are taking longer than in the past. Blue states wait the longest and they hear ‘no’ more often. - NYT

Thurs, April 30, 2026:

• FEMA aims to rehire most of the disaster-response employees it fired months ago. The agency is planning to bring back most of the staffers from the Cadre of On-Call Response and Recovery who were terminated as part of Kristi Noem’s plans to cut the agency. - WP

Thurs, April 16, 2026:

• Former FEMA leader set to return after being ousted. Cameron Hamilton had publicly disagreed with previous efforts to dismantle FEMA. - WP

Fri, April 3, 2026:

• Senior FEMA Official, who is in charge of responding to fires and floods, says the hand of God suddenly and mysteriously moved him to a 24-hour breakfast spot in Rome, Ga. - NYT

Thurs, Feb 26, 2026:

• The Trump administration is about to release billions in disaster aid. Several blue states won’t be included - CNN

Sat, Feb 21, 2026:

• A Post-Katrina Law Guards FEMA Resources. Why Hasn’t It Stopped Noem? A key statute was designed to rein in the Homeland Security secretary and prevent deadly mistakes. Lawyers say its provisions are difficult to enforce. - NYT

Fri, Feb 20, 2026:

• Disaster relief fund threatened as partial shutdown takes hold. FEMA expected to report $9.6 billion left in fund. - Roll Call

Thurs, Jan 29, 2026:

• FEMA could still support winter storm response in a shutdown, despite administration warnings - AP

Fri, Jan 23, 2026:

• FEMA halts terminations of disaster workers as agency prepares for massive winter storm - CNN

Fri, Dec 26 2025:

• Hundreds of residents signed up for FEMA buyouts after Helene. Not one has been approved. Some of the homeowners seeking help are still paying mortgages on homes that are no longer livable. – WP

Thurs, Dec 11, 2025:

• An expert panel advising President Trump about overhauling the Federal Emergency Management Agency canceled a meeting scheduled for Thursday at which members were set to release a report recommending their changes to the disaster agency. The move came after Trump officials were angered that CNN had obtained a copy of the FEMA Review Council’s final report and published an article on its website Wednesday. – Politico

• FEMA Hired a Conspiracy Theorist. – Bloomberg

Wed, Dec 10, 2025:

• Trump’s FEMA council to recommend dramatic downsizing and overhaul – but not elimination – of the agency. – CNN

Tues, Nov 25, 2025:

• When FEMA and Illinois officials learned immigration agents were working nearby, they stopped dozens of personnel from surveying storm-damaged homes in Chicago – WP

Mon, Nov 24, 2025:

• New FEMA chief led effort to rein in agency spending, strip funding from Muslim groups – CNN

Sun, Nov 23, 2025:

• Administration again denies FEMA disaster relief for Illinois, Pritzker says. Officials in jurisdictions led by Democrats have viewed the denials of aid as politically driven. – WP

Wed, Nov 19, 2025:

• Trump Wanted to Abolish FEMA. His Own Advisers Disagree. A panel convened by President Trump is said to have rejected the president’s idea that the agency should “go away.” – NYT

• Noem at odds with Trump-appointed panel over future of FEMA. Instead of further shrinking and dismantling FEMA, the FEMA Review Council wants to make it more independent. – WP

Mon, Nov 17, 2025:

• FEMA acting chief David Richardson departs after six months on the job – AP

• Resignation of Interim FEMA Director, Continuation of Administration Chaos – Approps/DeLauro

Thurs, Oct 16, 2025:

• How FEMA Is Forcing Disaster-Struck Towns to Fend for Themselves. Trump has said he wants to eventually shift the burden of disaster relief and recovery onto states. It’s already happening. – NYT

Tues, Oct 14, 2025:

• Before Alaska Flooding, E.P.A. Canceled $20 Million Flood Protection Grant. The remote village of Kipnuk planned to use the money to protect against flooding. On Sunday, it was inundated. – NYT

Tues, Sept 30, 2025:

• National Flood Insurance Program is set to expire Tuesday, halting new policies and some home loans – ABC

Sun, Sept 28, 2025:

• FEMA Is Paralyzed. Disaster-Torn Communities Are Paying the Price. St. Louis’s tornado was months ago, but it’s still waiting for hundreds of millions in federal recovery funds to arrive. It’s part of Trump’s plan to shift responsibility to the states and shrink the agency. – WSJ

Wed, Sept 24, 2025:

• As Texas flooded, key staff say FEMA’s leader could not be reached. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s acting administrator, David Richardson, is often inaccessible, several current and former officials say, raising concerns within the agency. – WP

Wed, Sept 10. 2025:

• GOP senator rails on Trump’s DHS over slow pace of hurricane relief and vows to stall nominees – CNN
  In June, CNN reported DHS Sec. Noem was tightening her grip on her department’s purse strings, ordering that every contract and grant over $100,000 must now cross her desk for approval.

Tues, Sept 2, 2025:

• Unprepared for multiple disasters this fall: Government Accountability Office warned in a Sept. 2, 2025 report that Trump’s cuts at FEMA leave the nation unable to address multiple disasters happening at once. Thirty FEMA employees who warned about this in a letter last month were suspended by the Trump Administration.

Wed, July 23, 2025:

• Trump has turned FEMA itself into a disaster. The Trump administration is mired in delays for deciding on governors’ requests for FEMA help – WP

Thurs, July 17, 2025:

• What the Texas floods prove about fixing FEMA. Complaints about the nation’s disaster response system are fair. But there are smarter ways to fix it. – WP

Fri, July 11, 2025:

• FEMA Didn’t Answer Thousands of Calls From Flood Survivors, Documents Show. Two days after deadly Texas floods, the agency struggled to answer calls from survivors because of call center contracts that weren’t extended. – NYT

• Trump administration moves away from abolishing FEMA. As the president visits Texas to see the impact of last week’s deadly flash floods, the White House has backed away from plans to abolish the agency, officials said. – WP

Sat, July 10, 2025:

• Governors accuse Trump admin of stalling disaster recovery – Axios

• FEMA Is Holding Up $2.4 Billion in Grants to Fight Terrorism, States Say. FEMA officials are two months behind in posting grant application guidelines, which are expected to reflect President Trump’s demand for cooperation on his priorities. – NYT

Mon, June 30, 2025:

• Trump’s stifling of disaster aid leaves cities adrift. The president canceled $4.5 billion in FEMA grants that helped communities prepare for rising disaster damage. – Politico

Fri, May 9, 2025:

• New acting FEMA leader David Richardson issued a brash declaration to staff that he would temporarily take over every decision at the agency, including on spending, and “run right over” anyone who opposed him, reported Reuters.

Thursday, May 8, 2025:

• Trump fired FEMA Acting Administrator Cameron Hamilton who—when answering a question at a congressional hearing—said he believes the disaster response agency, which distributes $45 billion per year to states and individuals, should not be eliminated. He was replaced by a Trump administration official, David Richardson, with no disaster response experience. With wildfire and hurricane season approaching, the Administration has yet to nominate a FEMA Administrator (who is required by law to have state emergency management experience).