Many Republicans in Congress are uncomfortable with the Trump administration’s proposed overhaul of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and some of them are going public with their concerns.
“FEMA needs to be reformed, but it’s an important instrument in recovery in every disaster I’ve ever seen,” Rep. Tom Cole, chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, told NOTUS. “We need to be careful about not throwing the baby out with the bathwater.”
President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2026 skinny budget proposes cutting $646 million from FEMA’s spending, while providing little detail about what efforts the cuts would affect. It comes as the administration imposes broader changes toward the president’s goal of scaling FEMA down, including cutting employees, removing funding allocations and ending its major grant programs.