Since January, President Trump has talked about his intent to eliminate or severely diminish the role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, relegating disaster response and recovery to the states. On Tuesday, he reiterated this goal and stated that no major changes would be made until after this year’s hurricane season.
The administration's first six months, however, have already brought significant disruption to the agency's operations. One-third of its total staff has been laid off, an acting administrator was abruptly replaced after expressing support for the agency’s existence, and nearly all climate resilience grants and training programs directed at state and local preparation have been canceled.
While criticism of the agency and calls for its reform are not new, FEMA has been central to U.S. emergency management for decades. Now, at the onset of the 2025 hurricane season, emergency management experts throughout the country are widely reporting concern about the nation’s readiness for disaster response.
To help us make sense of these real and proposed changes in this episode, ‘disasterologist’ Dr. Samantha Montano returns to the podcast. Samantha will explain the origins of FEMA, valid areas for potential reform, and the issues inherent in turning its responsibilities over to the states— as environmental risks to lives and property in the Ten Across region become more difficult to insure.
Relevant articles and resources:
Listen to our first episode with Samantha
More on the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season and related misinformation
“Trumps says his administration wants to ‘wean’ states off FEMA aid after hurricane season” (CBS News, June 2025)
“The dangers of a weakened FEMA ahead of an active hurricane season” (NPR, June 2025)
“FEMA Is Not Prepared” (The Atlantic, June 2025)
“FEMA leader fired after breaking with Trump administration on eliminating agency” (CBS News, May 2025)
“States denied disaster aid as FEMA safety net begins to shrink” (KUOW, May 2025)
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