FEMA is facing an uncertain future under the Trump administration, which has sent conflicting signals.
States should be breathing a sigh of relief as hurricane season ends on Sunday. It was the first season in a decade without a landfall in the continental U.S.
Instead, they are wondering if they’ll be on their own when the next natural disaster inevitably strikes.
With damage totals regularly topping $1 billion, states rely heavily on funding and logistical aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But FEMA is facing an uncertain future under the Trump administration, which has tried to delay and cancel billions in disaster relief funds as well as grants for mitigation projects. It has also denied at least a dozen state requests for disaster aid.
President Donald Trump has floated an array of potential changes, including eliminating the agency entirely.
As Trump now awaits recommendations from his review council on what to do with the agency, states have to reckon with the possibility that a previously dependable partner may no longer be able to help in their times of greatest need.
Disaster survivors are already waiting longer to get aid from the federal government, with presidential disaster declarations taking more than a month on average during Trump’s second term, compared to averages of three weeks over the last decade and two weeks in the 1990s and early 2000s.
“Hurricane Helene hit western NC more than a year ago, and the federal government has covered only around 10 percent of the storm’s damage,” North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein posted on social media last week.
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