One truism of modern American politics is that politicians and voters love to trash the federal government … until they need the resources and expertise of the federal government.
For months, President Donald Trump and his administration have floated the idea of doing away with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). “I think, frankly, FEMA is not good,” he told reporters in his first week back in the Oval Office. The president said his administration would “begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA, or maybe getting rid of” the agency altogether.
Within a month, the Department of Homeland Security fired 200 employees from the already understaffed agency. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem declared at a Cabinet meeting in March that one of her goals was “to eliminate FEMA.” In April, CNN reported that “about 20% of FEMA’s permanent full-time staff — roughly 1,000 workers — [were] expected to take a voluntary buyout” before hurricane season began.
That was then.
In the Texas disaster, the problem wasn’t FEMA. It was, in part, Noem.
After devastating rains led to flash floods in the Texas Hill Country, leaving at least 120 dead and scores missing, the White House is singing a different tune. “Administration officials say abolishing the agency outright is not on the agenda,” The Washington Post reported Friday, with one senior official telling the Post that “changes in the agency will probably amount to a ‘rebranding’ that will emphasize state leaders’ roles in disaster response.”
Noem, who apparently had not received the new White House talking points, was still talking about scrapping FEMA this week, when she claimed the agency is “slower to get the resources to Americans in crisis” and should be “remade into a responsive agency.”
But, in the Texas disaster, the problem wasn’t FEMA. It was, in part, Noem.
“Noem now requires that all agency spending over $100,000 be personally approved by her, according to current and former FEMA officials,” NBC News reported earlier this week. CNN reports that this restriction led to delays: FEMA officials were unable to pre-position urban search-and-rescue crews, which specialize in searching for victims during catastrophic weather incidents. Noem failed to authorize the crews’ deployment until Monday, 72 hours after flooding began. The same day, according to NBC News, “FEMA officials created a task force to speed up the process of getting Noem’s approval.”
In addition, aerial imagery from FEMA that would have aided search-and-rescue teams on the ground was delayed. Callers to the disaster call center faced longer wait times because Noem’s stamp of approval was needed to hire additional support staff.
In an effort to curtail costs — in line with Elon Musk’s slash-and-burn DOGE operation — Noem placed needless roadblocks in the way of a swift federal response. But according to DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin, this is all part of the plan. “FEMA is shifting from bloated, D.C.-centric dead weight to a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief for their citizens,” she told CNN.
When it comes to responding to natural disasters, only the federal government is capable of marshaling the necessary capabilities and expertise.
While promoting a “less bloated” FEMA, Trump administration officials have suggested that emergency management should be turned over to the states. But hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters don’t announce in advance which states they will hit. Keeping emergency responses within the purview of the federal government, to cover the multitude of potential disasters, clearly is the smartest and most efficient approach.
Indeed, the Texas floods have tragically highlighted the dangers of relying on local jurisdictions to both prepare for and respond to disasters. One of the major controversies in Texas is the lack of warning provided to those who were in harm’s way. According to new NBC News reporting, FEMA officials sent updates to officials in Kerr County, one of the hardest hit areas, about the coming deluge. But local officials did not utilize FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) to send warnings to all mobile phones in the danger zone.
There is a larger lesson here as well. Undermining the federal government, treating its career employees poorly, discarding years of institutional knowledge and cutting spending for the sake of cutting spending might seem like good politics, until you need the federal government. And when it comes to responding to natural disasters, only the federal government is capable of marshaling the necessary capabilities and expertise.
Of course, it’s not just when Mother Nature acts out. The federal government plays a critical role in so many aspects of our lives. Since taking a chain saw to federal payrolls, the Trump administration has had to rehire or call back scores of federal employees ranging from meteorologists at the National Weather Service and specialists in childhood lead exposure to workers overseeing the nation’s stockpile of nuclear weapons and a number cruncher to distribute money to states under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The Trump team had earlier let go of the entire LIHEAP staff.
In real terms, the cost in lives and property is most important. But the White House should also remember that while Americans love to complain about the federal government, they punish politicians who don’t use it properly to help them. George W. Bush’s presidency, for instance, never recovered from the incompetence of his administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina. Trump should understand this lesson better than most — his presidency suffered a political body blow over his disastrous handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Texas flood disaster should be a wake-up call for the Trump administration: The president who messes with the federal government does so at their own peril. But as is typical with the president and his allies, they’ll just as likely ignore the warnings. Indeed, as tales of incompetence and mismanagement trickle out to reporters (undoubtedly from staff none too happy to receive blame), the administration’s responses fall into the usual mode of defensiveness and hostility.
With the peak of hurricane season around the corner, Americans in the potential danger zone are now at even greater danger. In reality, we all are. The federal government, throughout its myriad of agencies and departments, can narrow risks and provide a helping hand to those in need. But less so when it’s being run by fools.
