As the official start of the hurricane season approaches in less than two months, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the country’s primary disaster-response agency, faces a challenging period with an uncertain future. According to reports from employees within the agency, tools, external partnerships, and practices are rapidly eroding, and there is a potential threat of staffing cuts and the departure of senior personnel. These developments could pose significant challenges as the nation heads into summer, even if FEMA remains somewhat stable. The employees, granted anonymity due to their lack of authorization to speak to the media, shared their concerns with WIRED.
An employee noted that while no significant changes have occurred yet, it doesn’t take much to severely disrupt a disaster response, warning that they are heading towards a potentially disastrous situation.
Established in 1979 by an executive order from President Jimmy Carter, FEMA later became part of the Department of Homeland Security after the 9/11 attacks. Recently, major disasters like Hurricanes Ian, Ida, and Helene, alongside the Covid-19 pandemic, have substantially increased agency expenditures.
FEMA has long been targeted by conspiracy theorists. Following Hurricane Helene, misinformation regarding the agency’s response, amplified by Donald Trump and certain right-wing influencers, placed FEMA in a politically vulnerable position during Trump’s second presidency.
In his first week of office, Trump signed an executive order establishing a council to evaluate FEMA’s past disaster management and its current response capabilities, criticizing the agency’s “efficacy, priorities, and competence.” In late March, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem publicly declared at a cabinet meeting the intention to “eliminate FEMA,” and later outlined a plan to restructure the agency, focusing solely on immediate disaster response by October and placing it under the White House’s control.
Geoff Harbaugh, FEMA’s Associate Administrator of the Office of External Affairs, assured WIRED via email that, unlike the previous administration’s perceived inadequate disaster responses, the Trump administration is committed to providing efficient assistance to Americans affected by emergencies. He emphasized continued cooperation with local and state authorities ahead of the 2025 hurricane season, asserting that emergency management functions best when led locally and at the state level.
Details about the review council, aside from cochairs Noem and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, remain undisclosed. Some lawmakers claim to be tapped for the council; however, an official list of members has not been released. Despite the executive order mandating an initial meeting by April 24, the council has so far only issued a request for public comments to understand experiences with FEMA during disasters. CNN reported in late March that Noem and others discussed potentially rescinding the executive order establishing the council. WIRED contacted FEMA for a list of council members and to inquire about the meeting schedule, but the agency did not provide those details.
