As the Trump administration angles to fully “eliminate” the Federal Emergency Management Agency, those who say the president tasked them with reviewing the disaster response agency appear to be on the sidelines — or operating on a completely different track.
“We’re going to eliminate FEMA,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said this week during a televised cabinet meeting. Top officials from DHS and FEMA, including Noem and Cameron Hamilton, FEMA’s acting administrator, reportedly met this week and discussed plans to end FEMA’s core disaster response functions by Oct. 1.
But on Capitol Hill, the lawmakers who say they have been tapped for Trump’s FEMA review council, established via executive order, are still working on a list of recommendations to reform the agency — not eliminate it.