New Noem plan leaves FEMA on the chopping block

The Homeland Security secretary expressed support for eliminating long-term disaster recovery efforts under the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has privately voiced support for dramatically shrinking the Federal Emergency Management Agency, six people told POLITICO’s E&E News.

Noem told Trump administration officials in a meeting Tuesday at Department of Homeland Security headquarters that she wants to eliminate FEMA’s role in funding long-term rebuilding efforts and and halt multibillion-dollar grant programs that help communities prepare for disasters.

No decisions have been made, and it is unclear if certain FEMA functions would be removed from the federal government or be relocated to another agency or department.

“We are grateful the press is covering Secretary Noem’s efforts to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse within the Department of Homeland Security,” a DHS spokesperson said.

The meeting, which occurred one day after Noem said publicly that “we’re going to eliminate FEMA,” also included FEMA acting Administrator Cameron Hamilton and Corey Lewandowski, an adviser to President Donald Trump.

Noem and other officials are looking to rebrand FEMA by putting it directly under White House control and narrowing the agency’s responsibilities to helping survivors in the immediate aftermath of disasters, according to the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

FEMA or its successor would give states disaster funding to address only “immediate needs” and for life-saving or life-sustaining operations such as search-and-rescue missions and for providing emergency supplies such as shelter, food and water, the people said.

The plans under consideration mark a watershed moment for FEMA, which had been an independent agency from its creation in 1979 to 2003, when it became part of the newly created Department of Homeland Security.

Trump, who has assailed FEMA as a presidential candidate and since taking office, suggested abolishing the agency in January. He created a council that’s co-chaired by Noem and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to review FEMA and recommend changes by late July.

Now the administration is considering abolishing the council, according to the people who spoke to E&E News. A Federal Register notice published Wednesday morning invites the public to submit comments to the council about individual experiences with FEMA. The council has not met.

At a televised Cabinet meeting on Monday, Noem spoke about DHS efforts related to border control and drug interdiction. Then she added at the end of remarks, “And we’re going to eliminate FEMA.”

The seemingly impromptu remark stunned lawmakers, state emergency officials and FEMA itself.

Noem’s meeting Tuesday with Hamilton and Lewandowski made it clear to some FEMA officials that she wants to plan for winding the agency down by the end of the fiscal year. One DHS insider said the department is looking at “narrowing and focusing the aperture of FEMA’s mission dramatically.”

FEMA provides tens of billions of dollars a year to help states and individuals rebuild from disasters such as hurricanes, flooding and wildfires. As disasters have become more destructive due to climate change and increasing development, FEMA spending has soared.

One person close to FEMA said the changes could amount to a rebranding that helps Trump take credit for revising an agency that has faced extensive criticism for its response to disasters.

Cover photo:  Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem expressed support for radically shrinking the Federal Emergency Management Agency. | Alex Brandon/AP