Republican senators question Trump's plans to change FEMA

WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers expressed concerns Thursday over the Trump administration’s proposal to restructure the Federal Emergency Management Agency, calling into question moves that would roll back the traditional bulwark to assist states with disaster relief.

At a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., told Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that she was “concerned about the FEMA issue,” citing her own experience in a small state she said often faces natural disasters like flooding.

“My experience with FEMA, has it been flawless? Has it been, you know, a smooth road? No,” Capito said. “But I think it’s a vital function, and I am concerned, if we turn it all over to the states, the capacity for the state to really handle this is something that — so I would ask you to tread lightly.”

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., queried Noem about the Trump administration’s plans, pointing out her state has been affected by hurricanes and tornadoes and said FEMA “has been a part of my life ever since I have been in the public office.”

Noem responded by invoking President Donald Trump’s stated vision for restructuring FEMA, outlining a plan that would give resources to states for disaster relief responses.

“President Trump has been very clear that he believes that the way that FEMA exists today should not continue,” Noem said. “It needs to be reformed. It needs to empower states to build in the structure that they need to best respond to disasters.”

Noem said Trump has “seen the failures over the years of FEMA,” asserting it has made choices for relief based on political party and has claims that haven’t been paid for 15 to 20 years.

“So his goal is to redo this agency in a way that empowers our states, recognizing that every state’s not at the same level of response today, that it’s going to take some effort to get them all ready to really, truly, take over the emergency management processes of their state,” Noem said.

Noem sought to defend a decrease of $646 million non-disaster grant programs for the FEMA that the White House put in its initial budget proposal for fiscal 2026.

The White House in the proposal justifies the reduction of non-disaster FEMA grant programs by characterizing them as “wasteful and woke” and a vestige of the Biden administration.

Noem added the Department of Homeland Security has also evaluated FEMA grants to ensure they are “not being abused to facilitate illegal immigration,” and are being used for “helping building dams and infrastructure, culverts that are the right size, instead of using them for bike paths and shade trees, like the Biden administration does.”

Noem in her opening statement also referenced FEMA Review Council, which she said she would co-chair with the Defense secretary in an effort at fixing “a broken system that’s returning power to state emergency management directors and making America safe.”

Trump established the council by executive order shortly after taking office on Jan. 24, citing “political bias” in the agency and failures in managing the nearly $30 billion allocated to the agency over the past three years.

After the hearing, DHS confirmed that Cameron Hamilton, the Trump administration’s top political official at FEMA, was out of the job. The reported departure comes a day after Hamilton appeared to diverge from the Trump administration during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing.

“As the senior adviser to the president on disaster and emergency management and to secretary of homeland security, I do not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” Hamilton said.

David Richardson, who comes from the DHS office for countering weapons of mass destruction, will be the senior official performing the duties of the administrator, a DHS spokesperson said Thursday.

Trump has openly suggested “getting rid of” FEMA on the basis the agency “has been a very big disappointment,” making the comment when surveying disaster zones in North Carolina and California at the start of his presidency.

While FEMA currently has states take the lead in disaster response and the federal government serves as backup if needed, Trump has suggested going to a new system in which states have a greater role.

“I’d like to see the states take care of disasters, let the state take care of the tornadoes and the hurricanes and all of the other things that happen,” Trump said in January. “And I think you’re going to find it a lot less expensive. You’ll do it for less than half and you’re going to get a lot quicker response.”

Noem heard similar support for FEMA when testifying before a House Appropriations subcommittee Tuesday.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, took the lead in tough questioning of Noem about plans to dismantle FEMA.

Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, had positive things to say about FEMA during his opening statement at the hearing, although his language didn’t touch on Trump’s plans for it.

“When state and local resources are exhausted, we do rely on FEMA to bring additional capabilities that save residents, remove debris and help our fellow citizens rebuild,” Cole said. “This isn’t a partisan issue. It’s one that concerns states, regardless of politics.”

Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers said they are working on a bill to overhaul and in some cases expand FEMA services to preempt the Trump’s effort to shrink or abolish the agency.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Sam Graves, R-Mo., said in a statement that he and Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington, the panel’s top Democrat, have released a “discussion draft” of legislation to solicit feedback from other lawmakers.

“We have clearly seen that FEMA is not working as it should for Americans who’ve been impacted by disasters,” Graves said. “Congress has passed FEMA reforms over the years, but it simply hasn’t been enough. By releasing this discussion draft legislation, we hope to engage our colleagues and stakeholders on comprehensive FEMA reform.”

The proposal seeks to make FEMA an independent Cabinet-level agency that would report directly to the president and would replace the current slow rebuilding process with project-based grants that would expedite the process.

On Thursday, Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on Senate Appropriations Committee for Homeland Security, said the Trump administration has undertaken “an upheaval at FEMA that is going to put lives in jeopardy.”

One in five FEMA employees have been pushed out, Murray said, as result of the Trump administration’s buyout offer to reduce the number of federal employees.

“We are losing indispensable staff just weeks away from fire and hurricane season, and over $100 billion in disaster relief and FEMA grants are still being held up,” Murray said.