海角大神

In Texas flood response, a scaled-back FEMA gets an early test

As the response on the ground in Texas shifts from rescue to recovery efforts, the Federal Emergency Management Agency鈥檚 ability to provide timely aid to states is once again front and center.

The Texas tragedy 鈥� in which flash flooding over the Fourth of July weekend left more than 100 dead, including 36 children, with more than 170 still missing 鈥� comes amid a widening debate over the federal government鈥檚 role in responding to natural disasters and whether to revamp or even dismantle FEMA.

On Sunday, just weeks after , President Donald Trump declared the flood zone in Texas a major disaster, activating FEMA resources and releasing funds to help with rescue and recovery operations. Speaking to reporters, the president said that now wasn鈥檛 the time to discuss FEMA鈥檚 future.

鈥淔EMA is something we can talk about later,鈥� .

Since Mr. Trump took office, however, the agency鈥檚 staff has reportedly been reduced by , as a result of buyouts and layoffs instituted by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). FEMA鈥檚 former acting administrator in May after he testified before Congress that he did not think the agency should be eliminated.

At a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the administration was 鈥渟treamlining鈥� FEMA, emphasizing that the state of Texas was leading the response on the ground, with the federal government playing a supporting role. The New York Times reported that many current and former FEMA officials characterized the federal presence in Texas as than what they would have expected for a disaster of this magnitude.

Conservatives have criticized FEMA in recent years for inefficiencies and layers of red tape that they say make it difficult for survivors to access support. Still, others contend that while FEMA might need to be revamped, the agency is playing an ever more crucial role, as states struggle to meet the rising costs and challenges of natural disasters, now occurring with more frequency and severity.

The agency鈥檚 response to immense flooding in the Texas Hill Country may offer a window into how a reimagined FEMA under the Trump administration will operate, as the federal government looks to scale back its role.

鈥淭he Texas flooding is a focusing event,鈥� says Susan Cutter, co-director of the Hazards Vulnerability & Resilience Institute at the University of South Carolina. 鈥淚t gives us a path forward or not 鈥� a path that we take collectively, or we start going down the road of a piecemeal response.鈥�

Mr. Trump has long criticized FEMA as a politicized behemoth that has lost track of its mission. 鈥淔EMA has been a very big disappointment,鈥� during a visit in January to North Carolina, where mountain communities are still recovering from destruction caused by last year鈥檚 Hurricane Helene. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very bureaucratic, and it鈥檚 very slow.鈥�

The president has criticized the agency鈥檚 response to the Los Angeles wildfires and Hurricane Helene, which left at least 230 people dead in southern Appalachia. The agency is reportedly behind schedule in processing emergency grants, many of which have been paused or canceled as part of budget cuts.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been ghosted by FEMA,鈥� Robert Wike Graham, deputy director of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management, , describing the agency鈥檚 lack of response to requests for information about his North Carolina community.

Nine months after Helene鈥檚 historic floods devastated many North Carolina mountain communities, most of the region is back open for business. But almost half of the state鈥檚 population, 43%, said FEMA鈥檚 response , according to recent polling.

Critics also accuse FEMA of mission creep, as the agency鈥檚 operations expanded beyond handling logistics and cutting checks in the wake of disasters. It was involved in much of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has played a role in migrant housing. FEMA even 鈥渢rains agencies on how to police protests 鈥� and they don鈥檛 do it well,鈥� says Edward Maguire, a criminologist at Arizona State University in Tempe. These expanding roles have often come without additional resources.

While it鈥檚 not uncommon for Washington to deny petitions for disaster relief funds, under President Trump FEMA has refused requests after and flooding in West Virginia. The agency also eliminated , including money for elevating or demolishing flood-prone homes, and strengthening buildings in hurricane and earthquake zones.

Yet as the Trump administration shifts more costs of and responsibilities for managing disasters onto the states, some worry about disparate outcomes. Wyoming officials say their recent requests for information about federal funds, which make up almost all of the state鈥檚 emergency management budget, .

Texas, which this year on improving its emergency preparedness, has been requesting assistance from Washington for its communities affected by rainfall and flooding since this past spring. With this latest flood, Gov. Greg Abbott requested an emergency declaration to mobilize FEMA.

Ms. Noem told reporters Tuesday that the FEMA response in Texas was the model for the agency moving forward.

鈥淲e, as a federal government, don鈥檛 manage these disasters; the state does,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e come in and support them.鈥� As soon as the president approved the disaster declaration for Texas, she said, 鈥淲e were able to get them resources and dollars right away ... through state block grants, to help them with cleanup.鈥�

On Wednesday, the FEMA Review Council, a task force set up by President Trump to recommend changes to the agency鈥檚 structure, held its . 鈥淩eforming FEMA is not nearly as simple as it should be,鈥� Ms. Noem said in her opening remarks.

Founded in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter, FEMA was itself originally an effort to streamline the U.S. emergency response, by consolidating several existing federal disaster-related agencies. In 2003, the agency was transferred to the newly formed Department of Homeland Security.

Over the past 30 years, it has per year dealing with disasters across the country, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Eliminating FEMA entirely would require an act of Congress. But already, many FEMA operations have , according to May testimony from the Natural Resources Defense Council to Congress.

The Trump administration has considered changing policies to make it more difficult for states to receive funding after disasters, according to Bloomberg News, which cited an . The proposed changes, which include limiting long-term housing assistance and halting enrollment in the National Flood Insurance Program, would amount to a dramatic reduction in the federal government鈥檚 role in disaster response.

FEMA鈥檚 command center director, in charge of coordinating flood responses, resigned in June after Mr. Trump announced plans to phase out the agency. States are now expected to share more of the recovery costs and must request assistance directly from the Oval Office.

This every-state-for-itself approach was once the norm, says Robert Griffin, a former Homeland Security undersecretary. But starting in the mid-20th century, 鈥淭he level of devastation of some of these events surpassed the capacity of the states and locals to respond, recover, and rebuild. It called out for a national presence.鈥�

FEMA was formed in part 鈥渢o bring unique federal resources that locals can鈥檛 afford: the fleets of helicopters, the search-and-rescue teams, the mortuary teams, the medical support teams,鈥� says Professor Griffin, who now serves as founding dean of the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity at the University at Albany.

Now, as the federal government scales back its role, he says, it raises questions about how the president will decide which states get aid and which don鈥檛 鈥� and what will happen to the states with fewer resources, if they are denied federal aid.

Editor鈥檚 note: This story was updated, on the same day of publication, to correct the name of the Natural Resources Defense Council.