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President Donald Trump vowed to “wean off” the Federal Emergency Management Agency last year, but his administration appears to be softening its tone as the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season approaches. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin told lawmakers during his confirmation hearing that FEMA should be “restructured, not eliminated.” A new FEMA Review Council report, which was released earlier this month after several delays, offered a more comprehensive roadmap for reform. The panel was appointed by the White House to collect feedback from a broad range of stakeholders and make recommendations.The report makes clear that the federal government should continue to play a role in disaster response and recovery, but it also suggests shifting more responsibility towards states and localities. It recommends raising the bar to qualify for federal support and contends that the current process disincentivizes state and local investment in disaster preparedness. The report also proposes giving states direct funding up front for disaster recovery to address frustrating wait times for federal assistance. “It is imperative that the Council’s reforms are implemented in a phased approach manner over two to three years,” the report adds. “This phased approach ensures States, Locals, Tribes, and Territories are able to prepare their fiscal and physical capabilities for the new transformed agency.”But despite talk of transforming the agency, FEMA’s role and mission have not meaningfully changed yet, according to Chris Currie with the U.S. Government Accountability Office. “There’s going to have to be administrative and agency actions taken, and there’s going to have to be legislation passed in Congress to implement a lot of the major reforms,” Currie said. For example, the report says legislation will be required to streamline FEMA’s Individual Assistance program for disaster survivors. Currie’s research has found that Americans are still struggling with long-standing challenges, like confusing letters from FEMA and long wait times for phone assistance through the agency’s helpline. FEMA didn’t respond to repeated interview requests, but an unnamed spokesperson said in an email that modernizing the Individual Assistance program remains a top priority. The spokesperson said that the agency has made some improvements already, such as clearer survivor communications, a redesigned web portal with real-time application status updates, and new explainer videos in multiple languages. “They’re trying to use technology to get better, but the progress on this has just not been where it needs to be,” Currie said. One thing that has changed ahead of hurricane season is the size of FEMA’s workforce. Currie estimates that between 2,500 and 3,000 people have left the agency under the Trump administration’s downsizing push, including some highly experienced staffers.FEMA wouldn’t confirm that number and didn’t directly respond when asked if the agency is planning additional staff reductions. The review council’s final recommendations ultimately didn’t include a 50% workforce cut, an option that was reportedly included in a December draft reviewed by The Associated Press.”As we approach the 2026 hurricane season and the FIFA World Cup, FEMA is taking targeted steps to stabilize our workforce and strengthen readiness,” an agency spokesperson wrote in an email. But Currie said FEMA was stretched thin, even before the Trump-era layoffs, as he laid out in a GAO report last fall. If the nation experiences catastrophic disasters back-to-back, the concern is that the agency may not have enough staff to meet the need. “It’s not just the fear. They just don’t,” Currie said. “We’ve seen it in past disasters.” At least for now, FEMA continues to confront these challenges without a permanent administrator. Trump nominated Cameron Hamilton to lead the agency earlier this month. Hamilton was ousted from his temporary role last year after he spoke out against abolishing FEMA.
President Donald Trump vowed to “wean off” the Federal Emergency Management Agency last year, but his administration appears to be softening its tone as the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season approaches.
Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin told lawmakers during his confirmation hearing that FEMA should be “restructured, not eliminated.”
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A new FEMA Review Council report, which was released earlier this month after several delays, offered a more comprehensive roadmap for reform. The panel was appointed by the White House to collect feedback from a broad range of stakeholders and make recommendations.
The report makes clear that the federal government should continue to play a role in disaster response and recovery, but it also suggests shifting more responsibility towards states and localities.
It recommends raising the bar to qualify for federal support and contends that the current process disincentivizes state and local investment in disaster preparedness. The report also proposes giving states direct funding up front for disaster recovery to address frustrating wait times for federal assistance.
“It is imperative that the Council’s reforms are implemented in a phased approach manner over two to three years,” the report adds. “This phased approach ensures States, Locals, Tribes, and Territories are able to prepare their fiscal and physical capabilities for the new transformed agency.”
But despite talk of transforming the agency, FEMA’s role and mission have not meaningfully changed yet, according to Chris Currie with the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
“There’s going to have to be administrative and agency actions taken, and there’s going to have to be legislation passed in Congress to implement a lot of the major reforms,” Currie said.
For example, the report says legislation will be required to streamline FEMA’s Individual Assistance program for disaster survivors. Currie’s research has found that Americans are still struggling with long-standing challenges, like confusing letters from FEMA and long wait times for phone assistance through the agency’s helpline.
FEMA didn’t respond to repeated interview requests, but an unnamed spokesperson said in an email that modernizing the Individual Assistance program remains a top priority. The spokesperson said that the agency has made some improvements already, such as clearer survivor communications, a redesigned web portal with real-time application status updates, and new explainer videos in multiple languages.
“They’re trying to use technology to get better, but the progress on this has just not been where it needs to be,” Currie said.
One thing that has changed ahead of hurricane season is the size of FEMA’s workforce. Currie estimates that between 2,500 and 3,000 people have left the agency under the Trump administration’s downsizing push, including some highly experienced staffers.
FEMA wouldn’t confirm that number and didn’t directly respond when asked if the agency is planning additional staff reductions. The review council’s final recommendations ultimately didn’t include a 50% workforce cut, an option that was reportedly included in a December draft reviewed by The Associated Press.
“As we approach the 2026 hurricane season and the FIFA World Cup, FEMA is taking targeted steps to stabilize our workforce and strengthen readiness,” an agency spokesperson wrote in an email.
But Currie said FEMA was stretched thin, even before the Trump-era layoffs, as he laid out in a GAO report last fall. If the nation experiences catastrophic disasters back-to-back, the concern is that the agency may not have enough staff to meet the need.
“It’s not just the fear. They just don’t,” Currie said. “We’ve seen it in past disasters.”
At least for now, FEMA continues to confront these challenges without a permanent administrator. Trump nominated Cameron Hamilton to lead the agency earlier this month. Hamilton was ousted from his temporary role last year after he spoke out against abolishing FEMA.
