{"id":50740,"date":"2025-07-09T06:50:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T06:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/50740\/"},"modified":"2025-07-09T06:50:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T06:50:09","slug":"texas-flooding-underscores-trumps-challenges-in-replacing-fema","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/50740\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas flooding underscores Trump’s challenges in replacing FEMA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just weeks ago, President Donald Trump said he wanted to begin \u201cphasing out\u201d the Federal Emergency Management Agency<\/a> after this hurricane season to \u201cwean off of FEMA\u201d and \u201cbring it down to the state level.\u201d<\/p>\n

But after months of promises to overhaul or eliminate the federal agency<\/a> charged with responding to disasters, Trump and his administration are touting a fast and robust federal response to the devastating Texas floods<\/a>. In doing so, they are aligning more closely with a traditional model of disaster response \u2014 and less with the dramatic reform the president has proposed.<\/p>\n

The president approved Texas Gov. Greg Abbott\u2019s request for a major disaster declaration just one day after it was submitted, activating FEMA resources and unlocking assistance for survivors and local governments. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem<\/a> told Trump in a presidential Cabinet meeting Tuesday morning<\/a> that FEMA was deploying funding and resources quickly. \u201cWe\u2019re cutting through the paperwork of the old FEMA, streamlining it, much like your vision of how FEMA should operate,\u201d Noem said.<\/p>\n

Noem said the rapid delivery of funds to Texas resembled the \u201cstate block grants\u201d model Trump has promoted. It\u2019s an idea that would replace FEMA\u2019s current system of reimbursing states for response and recovery expenses at a cost-share of at least 75%.<\/p>\n

But ex-FEMA officials say it\u2019s unclear how the response differs from FEMA\u2019s typical role in disasters, which is to support states through coordination and funding. Instead, they say, the vigorous federal response underscores how difficult it would be for states to take on FEMA\u2019s responsibilities if it were dismantled. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a defining event that can help them realize that a Federal Emergency Management Agency is essential,\u201d said Michael Coen, FEMA chief of staff in the Obama and Biden administrations. \u201cImagine if an event like this happened a year from now, after FEMA is eliminated. What would the president or secretary (Noem) offer to the governor of Texas if there is no FEMA?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Department of Homeland Security and FEMA did not immediately respond to questions about Noem\u2019s remarks, including whether FEMA was doing something different in how it moved money to Texas, or why it resembled a block-grant system. <\/p>\n

FEMA will have multiple roles in Texas<\/p>\n

While Noem and Trump have emphasized that Texas is leading the response and recovery to the floods, that has always been FEMA\u2019s role, said Justin Knighten, the agency\u2019s director of external affairs during the Biden administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe state is in the lead. FEMA is invited into the state to support,\u201d Knighten said. He said that while Texas\u2019 division of emergency management is one of the most experienced in the country, even the most capable states face catastrophes that overwhelm them: \u201cWhen there\u2019s capacity challenges and resource need, that\u2019s where FEMA steps in.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of FEMA\u2019s primary roles will be to coordinate resources from other federal agencies. If the state needs the Army Corps of Engineers to help with debris removal, Health and Human Services for mortuary support and crisis counseling, or EPA for water quality testing, FEMA arranges that at the state\u2019s request and then reimburses those agencies. \u201cFEMA becomes a one-point entry for all federal support,\u201d Coen said.<\/p>\n

The agency also coordinates first-responder support \u2014 like search-and-rescue teams deployed from across the country<\/a> \u2014 and reimburses those costs. It administers the National Flood Insurance Program, which gives homeowners and renters access to flood coverage not typically included in general policies.<\/p>\n

Those with insufficient insurance or none at all will rely heavily on FEMA\u2019s Individual Assistance program, which supports survivors with needs like temporary housing and home repairs. On Wednesday, the agency is opening disaster recovery centers where households can get help applying for assistance, according to Texas Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd. The Public Assistance program will reimburse state and local governments for most or all of the costs of infrastructure repairs. <\/p>\n

States would have trouble replacing FEMA<\/p>\n

While Trump and Noem often say they want states to take on more responsibility in disaster response, experts say the tragedy in Texas underscores how even the most capable states need support. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s true that Texas is very capable, but I think it\u2019s something that people forget that FEMA pays for a lot of state and local emergency capacity,\u201d said Maddie Sloan, director of the disaster recovery and fair housing project at the policy nonprofit Texas Appleseed. The Texas Division of Emergency Management\u2019s budget of over $2 billion is mostly funded through federal grants<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf a state like Texas asks for federal assistance within two days, the smaller states that are less capable don\u2019t stand a chance,\u201d said Jeremy Edwards, FEMA\u2019s deputy director of public affairs during the Biden administration. <\/p>\n

States would have to set up their own recovery programs and to coordinate with each federal agency if they were given block grants in lieu of FEMA involvement. \u201cWithout FEMA, a governor or a state has to be calling around and have a Rolodex of the whole federal government to call and try and figure out what support they can get,\u201d Coen said. <\/p>\n

There are plenty of reforms that could improve how FEMA reimburses states and helps survivors, experts said, but eliminating it risks big gaps in recovery<\/a>. \u201cWe have spent a lot of time encouraging FEMA to be better, but if FEMA goes away, there is no help for individual families,\u201d Sloan said.<\/p>\n

Uncertain future for federal disaster response <\/p>\n

Trump has deflected questions about what the Texas response means for FEMA\u2019s future. A 12-member review council established by the president and charged with proposing FEMA reforms will meet for the second time Wednesday. Abbott and Kidd are both on the council. <\/p>\n

At the first meeting, Abbott called FEMA \u201cslow and clunky\u201d and said reforms should \u201cstreamline the effort.\u201d He has praised Trump\u2019s quick disaster declaration in Texas.<\/p>\n

While no large reforms to the agency have been enacted yet, smaller policy changes could impact Texas\u2019 recovery. <\/p>\n

This spring, the administration did away with FEMA\u2019s practice of door-to-door canvassing to help households enroll for assistance, calling it \u201cwasteful and ineffective.\u201d Many of the impacted areas in Kerr County and beyond still lack power and accessible roads, which will make it difficult for households to apply immediately for help. <\/p>\n

Abbott\u2019s request for hazard mitigation funding, a common add-on to public and individual assistance that helps communities rebuild with resilience, is also still pending. Trump has not approved any hazard-mitigation assistance requests since February. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Just weeks ago, President Donald Trump said he wanted to begin \u201cphasing out\u201d the Federal Emergency Management Agency…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":50741,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[11744,10109,10106,38243,69,14520,57,2055,330,5026,38245,38246,2399,38244,50,80,358,38094,5028,61,67,132,68,93],"class_list":{"0":"post-50740","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"category-us","9":"tag-barack-obama","10":"tag-climate","11":"tag-climate-and-environment","12":"tag-disaster-planning-and-response","13":"tag-donald-trump","14":"tag-federal-emergency-management-agency","15":"tag-general-news","16":"tag-government-and-politics","17":"tag-government-programs","18":"tag-greg-abbott","19":"tag-jeremy-edwards","20":"tag-justin-knighten","21":"tag-kristi-noem","22":"tag-michael-coen","23":"tag-news","24":"tag-politics","25":"tag-texas","26":"tag-texas-hill-country-floods","27":"tag-tx-state-wire","28":"tag-u-s-news","29":"tag-united-states","30":"tag-unitedstates","31":"tag-us","32":"tag-washington-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}