The first year of the Trump administration almost destroyed the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Elon Musk’s purge of the federal civil service was just one of many blows to FEMA. Former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem instituted a freeze on almost all disaster recovery and response spending, paralyzing the agency’s core function. This held up billions of dollars for communities around the country, delayed disaster response during catastrophic events like the July 4 floods in Central Texas, and all but ended the agency’s efforts to prepare for future disasters. The agency also slow-walked and even denied a large share of aid requests, especially from Democrat-controlled states. Earlier this year, leaked memos showed that the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, planned to slash FEMA’s on-the-ground response staffing by around half. (FEMA is one of multiple agencies within DHS.)
President Trump’s firing of Noem last month — which came after a series of controversies regarding her handling of immigration enforcement, improper personal spending, an... Read more
