Trump’s FEMA Council Backs Overhaul of Disaster Response

President Donald Trump’s task force for reforming the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Thursday recommended sweeping changes to how the federal government responds to natural disasters.

The recommendations, finalized at a council meeting in Washington, include reassessing FEMA staffing, rethinking what disasters qualify for federal disaster aid and then streamlining its distribution, reforming the National Flood Insurance Program, and shifting more training and spending decisions to state, local and tribal authorities, over a period of two to three years. At least half of the recommendations require action by Congress.

A final report detailing the recommendations now goes to the White House and will be released for public comment.

“Emergency managers have been waiting for these recommendations for more than 16 months. This is a pivotal moment — not only for FEMA, but for every state, local, tribal, and territorial emergency manager who depends on a strong federal partnership before, during, and after disasters,” said Carrie Speranza, former chair of FEMA National Advisory Council, a now-disbanded group of experts that advised the agency on all aspects of emergency management. “The implementation phase will ultimately determine the success of these reforms and their impact on communities nationwide.”

A prior draft of the report dated December 11, which was leaked online, included some more controversial recommendations, such as renaming FEMA and cutting its staff by half, that did not make it into the final version.

In an executive order last year, Trump established the FEMA Review Council to propose an overhaul of the nation’s disaster-response system. Since April 2025, the council’s more than 10 members — senior government officials, state and local politicians and emergency managers — have gathered input from people involved in disaster work nationwide. The council spent more than a year soliciting public comments and developing recommendations.

The report’s finalization follows months of upheaval inside FEMA, which has seen repeated leadership changes and the departure of more than 5,000 workers since Trump returned to the White House.

The council also held multiple public meetings, including one in July, days after the deadly Texas floods, where then-Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem reiterated calls for the agency “to be eliminated.”

Trump has been an outspoken critic of FEMA, joining the campaign for the agency to be abolished or severely downsized. In the weeks before the November 2024 election, Trump sharply criticized the Biden administration’s handling of hurricanes Helene and Milton. At the time, Trump repeated falsehoods and inaccuracies about FEMA, including claims that the agency was directing disaster funds to immigrants.

The review council’s report was originally expected December of last year, but Trump extended the group’s deadline twice. During that time, Markwayne Mullin replaced Noem as DHS chief and co-chair of the FEMA Review Council.

The administration hasn’t waited for the council’s recommendations before moving to cut grants and staff. The agency has also stopped referring to climate change. Some of FEMA’s programs and funding changes have been successfully challenged and overturned in court, while other legal cases are still pending.

Trump hasn’t yet named a permanent leader of the agency. Karen S. Evans, who has also served as FEMA’s chief of staff, took over as temporary chief on Dec. 1 after her predecessor, David Richardson, resigned. Evans is the third political official to serve in the temporary role since Trump returned to office.

Top photo: The Federal Emergency Management Agency National Response Coordination Center in Washington in January. Photographer: Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg.