President Donald Trump has raised the prospect of abolishing the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but his acting FEMA administrator said that wouldn’t be his recommendation.
Lawmakers raised concerns about FEMA’s future during a pair of House committee hearings this week as they reviewed the president’s budget for the disaster relief agency.
The budget proposes a $644 million cut, drawing criticism from Democrats. But their larger concern is Trump’s comments suggesting he could eliminate the agency.
Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Illinois, said abolishing FEMA and pushing disaster recovery to the states is “dangerous and unrealistic.”
“Eliminating FEMA would cause catastrophic and needless suffering to the American public,” Underwood said.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut, pressed acting FEMA administrator Cameron Hamilton about abolishing the agency. To her relief, Hamilton said he didn’t support doing away with FEMA.
“I do not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton’s comments were a notable break from the rhetoric of Trump and other administration officials.
“I think we’re going to recommend that FEMA go away,” Trump said while touring flood damage in North Carolina in January, before continuing to Los Angeles, which was devastated by wildfires, where he said, “I say you don’t need FEMA, you need a good state government.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees FEMA, reiterated Trump’s position in a May 6 congressional hearing.
“He believes that FEMA and its response in many, many circumstances has failed the American people, and that FEMA as it exists today should be eliminated,” Noem said
Hamilton, the FEMA administrator, noted that the agency’s future isn’t up to him. He said it’s a question for Trump and “this governing body” to decide “what is prudent for federal investment and what is not.”
And while Hamilton opposes eliminating the agency, he made the case for significant reforms and said it should be involved in fewer disaster relief efforts. He said the agency was established to help with “truly catastrophic disasters.”
“Yet at times, we have strayed far from that core mission and evolved into an overextended federal bureaucracy, attempting to manage every type of emergency, no matter how minor,” Hamilton said. “Instead of being a last resort, FEMA is all too often used by states and public officials as a financial backstop for routine issues that frankly should be handled locally.”
Republicans on the committee agreed.
“The mission has just strayed so far from what you should be doing,” said U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa.
Democrats said many states and local governments aren’t prepared to take on the work that FEMA does, and would be financially burdened if the agency pulled back.
“There is no way that the small towns that I represent are equipped to handle leading coordination and response with multiple federal agencies in the wake of a major disaster,” Underwood said. “Shifting the burden to them is not only irresponsible and wasteful, it’s dangerous.”
Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 24 creating a review council to look at FEMA and suggest potential changes, including “whether FEMA can serve its functions as a support agency, providing supplemental Federal assistance” to states instead of directly controlling disaster relief.
The agency has been under strain amid the wave of federal layoffs and buyouts pushed by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency. At least 2,000 out of 6,100 full-time FEMA employees have left or plan to leave, a former employee told USA TODAY.
Trump criticized FEMA’s response to Hurricane Helene, a devastating storm that killed 248 people and inflicted $78.7 billion in damage from Florida to North Carolina, where catastrophic flooding led to 105 deaths. The agency also has been grappling with the aftermath of the Los Angeles wildfire, which caused an estimated $250 billion to $275 billion in damage.
FEMA is running low on disaster relief funding as the Atlantic hurricane season approaches.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump FEMA administrator Cameron Hamilton opposes abolishing agency
