(The Hill) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she planned to “eliminate” the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) during a televised Cabinet meeting Monday.
While giving a status report on border security, Noem added, “And we’re going to eliminate FEMA.” She did not elaborate.
“That’s great. Great job,” President Donald Trump said, appearing to respond to her broader status update.
Trump has been highly critical of the emergency management agency, having suggested in the past that he would consider cutting it.
“I’ll also be signing an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA, or maybe getting rid of FEMA. I think, frankly, FEMA’s not good,” Trump said in January.
However, a recent White House executive order stopped short of getting rid of the agency, instead calling for a review of disaster response policies.
That order calls on the Homeland Security secretary to propose changes and ensure “state and local governments and individuals have improved communications with Federal officials and a better understanding of the Federal role.”
FEMA coordinates disaster response in the immediate aftermath of storms and also helps with longer-term recovery.
Democrats pushed back on Noem’s comment, saying getting rid of FEMA would be abandoning communities in need.
“The Trump Administration’s grand plan for victims of natural disasters is to abandon them—and it’s a complete non-starter,” Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said in a written statement.
“This rash decision will harm ongoing disaster recovery efforts, and make it impossible to respond after the next natural disaster,” he added.
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