Trump administration plans for sharp FEMA cuts fuel worries for some Republicans, state officials

A developing Trump administration plan for deep staff cuts and drastic changes at the Federal Emergency Management Agency is raising alarm among some state officials and even Republican lawmakers, who worry that it will weaken responses to future disasters.

A developing Trump administration plan for deep staff cuts and drastic changes at the Federal Emergency Management Agency is raising alarm among some state officials and even Republican lawmakers, who worry that it will weaken responses to future disasters. Republicans have had trouble getting details of the administration’s plan, even as President Donald Trump has made clear his desire to eliminate the agency. He and Elon Musk have argued that it’s ineffective and inefficient, pointing to recent incidents where the agency has come under fire. Department of Government Efficiency personnel have been inside FEMA offices, meeting with agency staff and reviewing FEMA files, according to multiple sources. Trump has also created a FEMA Review Council to recommend changes to the agency. In recent days, senior officials in a key office at FEMA were given a stark mandate to submit for firing a list that includes “anyone who worked or works on climate, environmental justice, equity, DEIA,” according to a copy of the email shared with CNN. “I understand this will impact the majority of our staff” the email sent to senior officials in the resiliency office at FEMA read. “I know that this feels like a shock to many of you and is an exceedingly difficult task.” FEMA is just the latest agency on DOGE’s chopping block – the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau headquarters has been shut down, orders to terminate the Department of Education have been drafted and the US Agency for International Development has had its aid work around the world largely brought to a standstill. The request for cuts at FEMA comes at a time when the agency is activated around the clock, as the US is battered by year-round disasters ranging from winter wildfires to spring thunderstorms producing dangerous amounts of hail. Hurricane season used to be the agency’s biggest concern, former FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told CNN recently, but now the agency is responding to increasingly frequent climate change-fueled disasters.