On March 18, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order (EO) that intends to enhance efficiency in the Federal Emergency Management Agency, (FEMA), by empowering state and local governments to effectively prepare for incidents such as extreme weather events and cyber attacks.
The EO further launches a National Resilience Strategy and calls for the creation of a National Risk Register. With this order, President Trump’s overall ambition is to shift power from FEMA to states and their localities, or rather, “the American people.” In this order President Trump addresses the often slow, bureaucratic nature of FEMA. Therefore, the president’s hope with this order is to speed up the process and enhance efficiency of disaster resilience through state and local preparedness. However, executive orders and policies are often convoluted, so what does this really mean and how is this playing out?
First and foremost, it is important to understand the basic processes of FEMA. The agency works through a bottom-up approach, having state, local, tribal, and territorial governments as the first line of defense. FEMA essentially acts as the safety net when these governments’ resources are overwhelmed. When a state’s resources are insufficient to address the demands of disaster response, federal assistance can be requested to ensure people affected by the disaster receive the support they need. However, the agency is not allowed to aid in disaster relief until the state governor requests a presidential declaration of an emergency. This process is dictated under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.
Under the Stafford Act, FEMA/EPR disaster assistance consists of Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, and Hazard Mitigation Assistance programs, which are all funded through the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF). Long story short is the responsibility for disaster preparedness and response already lies at the state and local level. The question is whether or not federal funding will still be available if state and local governments need it.
The executive order does not address the monetary aspect of FEMA assistance, so it is unknown whether the order will have implications for the DRF or if changes will be made to the Stafford Act. Nonetheless, the executive order does not seem to drastically change the bottom-up nature of disaster preparedness, mitigation, or response.
If you have been keeping up with the media, you’ve likely seen the budget cuts FEMA is facing in the form of employee terminations. So where in the executive order does it address budget cuts? It doesn’t.
The employee terminations are not directly attributed to President Trump’s executive order, but rather, it is likely that the decision is tied to the Department of Government Efficiency and its mission to largely reduce the federal workforce with the intent to cut federal spending. Despite the decision not being a direct effect of the executive order, the results are still largely present.
Shortly after Inauguration Day, more than 200 probationary FEMA workers were fired. In addition to the employee terminations, CBS News obtained an email sent to FEMA employees, with the Subject: “Hiring Update.” The email essentially informed employees about the restructuring of the agency’s hiring practices in order to improve efficiency and align the processes with the Trump administration’s goals — a hiring overhaul.
The email has stunned many employees as the hiring overhaul has left them uncertain about how their employment with the agency will be affected. However, it should be made clear that the “Hiring Update” email is not directly tied to President Trump’s executive order to achieve “Efficiency Through State and Local Preparedness,” but rather it is likely a result of the presidential action of “Reforming the Federal Hiring Process and Restoring Merit to Government Service.”
Although the terminations and hiring overhaul are not a direct result of the executive order, there is still a lot of anxiety about what these actions collectively mean for the agency, especially because FEMA has been chronically understaffed in recent years. Non-profit organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Council have expressed concern for the future of the United States amidst growing frequency of extreme weather events. The United States Government Accountability Office addressed that FEMA’s workforce and resources have been stretched thin due to the increase in emergencies they have been called on to assist. With this in mind, many believe the decision to shift responsibility to state and local governments, paired with reducing FEMA’s workforce is a recipe for disaster. Many have claimed these decisions will only make efficiency in the agency more turbulent, resulting in increased risk for the American people when an extreme weather event hits.
Other concerns are surfacing around the complete elimination of FEMA, as they speculate the hiring overhaul is the beginning of dismantling the agency. These worries are not baseless, as the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, has stated they plan to eliminate FEMA. However, the power to abolish a federal agency lies with Congress. Regardless, the future of the agency remains uncertain.
Conclusively, only time will tell what happens to FEMA under the Trump administration. Which is why now, more than ever, it is imperative that we individually educate and prepare ourselves, so that when disaster strikes, we remain resilient.