Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday that President Donald Trump has backed away from his previous demand to terminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and now supports a full-scale reform of how the agency operates and supports state-level disaster response.
After months of calling FEMA “totally ineffective” and calling for it to be “TERMINATED,” Trump now intends to “remake” the agency rather than eliminate it, Noem said during an interview on Meet the Press.
Why It Matters
FEMA plays a central role in coordinating federal responses to disasters, providing resources to states and localities after hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and other emergencies. Trump’s prior calls to dismantle the agency sparked bipartisan concern, especially after funding was withheld from states like Washington and North Carolina following major storm damage.
The president’s pivot reflects growing pressure to balance FEMA reform with effective disaster response as extreme weather events become more frequent.
What’s Changing
In a statement to Newsweek, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson confirmed that the president’s FEMA Review Council—made up of emergency management experts—will recommend ways to restructure the agency so that the federal role remains “supplemental and appropriate to the scale of disaster.”
“FEMA’s outsized role created a bloated bureaucracy that disincentivized state investment in their own resilience,” Jackson said. “President Trump is committed to right-sizing the federal government while empowering state and local governments.”
In February, Trump declared FEMA under President Biden had been a “total disaster” and suggested that disaster response should be left entirely to the states. But recent catastrophic flooding in Texas appears to have shifted his stance.
During a joint visit to hard-hit Kerr County, Trump and Noem met with local officials and approved extended disaster declarations. Noem described the response effort as “immediate” and said it demonstrated how a restructured federal approach could empower state authorities while delivering faster support.
A Different Approach
Noem said the president now supports using FEMA as a support mechanism—not a command structure.
“What the president wants to do is empower states to run their own emergencies, and we come in and support them,” she said. “He recognizes that FEMA shouldn’t exist the way it always has. It needs to be deployed differently—and that’s what we demonstrated in Texas.”
Pressed on whether Trump still wants to abolish FEMA entirely, Noem responded: “He wants it to be remade—rebuilt into a new agency that actually works for the states, not against them.”
She added that the federal response in Texas was broader than just FEMA:
“The Coast Guard, Border Patrol, fixed-wing aircraft, BORTAC teams, dog teams—all surged in to support state and local responders. FEMA was part of that, not the whole of it.”
What People Are Saying
Kristi Noem, on X:
“The immediate disaster response was swift and efficient… This was a historic, first-of-its-kind approach to disaster funding: putting states first by providing upfront recovery support—moving money faster than ever and jumpstarting recovery.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday:
“The president wants to ensure Americans always receive the help they need in times of crisis. Whether that comes from state or federal agencies is part of an ongoing policy discussion.”
Former FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, in a Newsweek op-ed last week, pushed back on criticisms of FEMA’s structure:
“FEMA exists to support states and communities when they need help the most. The system only works when it’s allowed to work.”
What’s Next
The FEMA Review Council continues its assessment and is expected to deliver reform proposals later this year. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is actively managing disaster relief operations in Texas, where dozens remain missing after devastating floods. More updates are expected as the situation unfolds and federal-state cooperation is tested further.
