- DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced her intention to eliminate FEMA in its current form, arguing that local officials should manage disaster relief instead of federal bureaucracy.
- Noem and the Trump administration claim that FEMA is slow and inefficient, advocating for state-led disaster response with federal financial support.
- President Donald Trump called FEMA an obstacle, stating it "complicates everything" and suggesting states should handle disasters with federal funding.
- FEMA has faced criticism for its "bloated" budget and accusations of aiding undocumented immigrants in disaster zones, prompting an operational review.
- FEMA is undergoing a hiring freeze and an internal review, signaling major restructuring or potential elimination under the current administration.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem has revealed that she is planning to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a federal disaster relief organization.
The 53-year-old former South Dakota governor first hinted about the elimination of FEMA in February. "I would say, yes, get rid of FEMA the way it exists today," Noem said when asked if she would recommend the president to get rid of FEMA in an interview with Dana Bash on CNN's "State of the Union."
"We still need the resources and the funds and the finances to go to people that have these types of disasters, like Hurricane Helene and the fires in California, but you need to let the local officials make the decisions on how that is deployed, so it can be deployed much quicker. And we don't need this bureaucracy that's picking and choosing winners."
In line with this, Noem declared during a cabinet meeting on March 24 that she would seek to dismantle the agency responsible for coordinating federal responses to hurricanes, wildfires and other emergencies. Noem declared this without going so much into details.
Trump: FEMA only complicates everything
FEMA has faced increasing scrutiny in Trump's second term, criticized by the administration and billionaire Elon Musk for its "bloated" budget and allegations that it provides aid to undocumented immigrants in disaster zones. (Related: FEMA spends $59M on luxury hotels for illegal immigrants as disaster victims suffer.)
An internal Trump administration memo in February revealed that officials were reviewing "all disaster relief programs that may indirectly or incidentally aid illegal aliens." The agency was also hit with a hiring freeze last week and an operational review is set to begin next month.
In line with this, Trump bluntly stated in January that FEMA is only an obstacle in disaster response and suggested that states should take the lead with federal financial support instead. He argued that FEMA has failed in its mission over the past four years and claimed the agency only "complicates everything."
"FEMA is whole another discussion, because all it does is complicate everything. FEMA has not done its job for the last four years. I had FEMA working really well…but unless you have certain types of leadership, it's really – it gets in the way, and FEMA is going to be a whole big discussion very shortly because I'd rather see the states take care of their own problems.
"Oklahoma is very competent… But you know what? If they get hit with a tornado or something, let Oklahoma fix it. You don't need – and then the federal government can help them out with the money. FEMA is getting in the way of everything and the Democrats actually use FEMA not to help North Carolina," Trump said in an interview on Fox News Channel's "Hannity."
Watch the video below where DHS Sec. Kristi Noem says that Trump has the authority and should shutter FEMA.
This video is from the InfoWarSSideBand channel on Brighteon.com.
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