Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noem said he hopes President Trump will “deadpress” the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) so that it exists today.
Noem joined CNN's “coalition status” on Sunday, overwhelming debate and Republican pushes with the dismantling of FEMA, particularly as the Trump administration targets federal spending.
“Yes, I say we'll get rid of FEMA in the way that it exists today. We still need resources, funds and finances to go to people with these types of disasters, such as Hurricane Helen and the California fires,” Noem said. said. “But we need to have local officials make decisions about how that will unfold, so that will unfold much faster.”
Many conversations have been centered around federal aid agencies after last year's hurricane and recent fires in California that swept Florida and North Carolina. Since taking office, Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have investigated federal spending and began cutting.
NOEM heads the Department of Homeland Security and oversees FEMA.
Trump has been significantly critical of FEMA, suggesting that individual states need to handle their own responses to natural disasters while being funded by the federal government.
Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (d) made a fierce exchange of conditioning aids to Hollywood following a devastating fire.
“FEMA hasn't done any work for the past four years,” Trump said in January. “FEMA will soon be a big debate because we want to see the state deal with their problems.”
