The Scoop
President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Friday that takes a first step toward potentially reshaping the Federal Emergency Management Agency by creating a task force to review it and recommend changes, according to details shared first with Semafor.
The order establishes a group called the Federal Emergency Management Agency Review Council, whose members will include the secretaries of homeland security and defense, in addition to private-sector subject matter experts. The task force will be directed to issue a report to Trump on how the federal disaster response agency currently functions and ultimately recommend changes — which could include reorganizing or getting rid of FEMA.
Trump has been open about wanting states to take more of a hand in managing responses to disasters within their borders; as a model, White House officials have pointed to Florida, which took a heavy hand in managing the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
A White House official confirmed to Semafor that Trump is expected to sign the directive later Friday, during a multi-state trip that marks his first outside of Washington since taking office on Monday.
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The president hinted at today’s order during a roundtable briefing in Asheville, North Carolina, before touring an area ravaged by Hurricane Helene last year.
Trump said he’d soon be signing a directive to start “fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA — or maybe getting rid of” the agency entirely.
“FEMA is a very expensive organization that doesn’t work out very well,” Trump said after meeting with families affected by Hurricane Helene. “If it was up to me right now, I’d end it right now.”
Notably, Trump’s executive order on FEMA does not seek to eliminate the agency; Congress would need to act to do that. The order instead underscores Trump’s interest in turning to outside advisers and private-sector companies to fill some typically governmental functions as he seeks to quickly accomplish his second-term goals.
It also reflects his administration’s clear skepticism of FEMA as currently structured, signaling that Trump may pursue more concrete changes once the task force’s review is complete. The details shared with Semafor include concerns about mismanagement of resources, FEMA work on immigration, and other questions that have been raised about the agency in recent years.
Private-sector members of the task force, whose total membership the order caps at 20, are expected to include experienced practitioners in budget management and emergency preparedness.
Notable
- A number of former FEMA officials and federal emergency managers believe changes need to be made, with calls growing for states to do more, The New York Times reported.
- The Department of Homeland Security initiated an audit of FEMA in December amid concerns that employees of the agency skipped homes with Trump signs in the yard, The Hill reported at the time.