Trump says he plans to phase out FEMA after 2025 hurricane season

(CNN) - President Donald Trump is planning to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency after this year’s hurricane season.

Trump said Tuesday he wants to bring FEMA down to the state level and let governors handle it. He added that the federal government will start distributing less federal aid for disaster recovery.

“If a certain state, as an example, gets hit by a hurricane… the governor should be able to handle it, and frankly, if they can’t handle it, the aftermath, then maybe they shouldn’t be governor,” Trump said.

The president has been critical of FEMA in the past and has spread misinformation about the agency, especially regarding its assistance in North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene, the Associated Press reports.

Plans to eliminate FEMA have baffled federal and state emergency managers. They say most states don’t have the budget or personnel to handle catastrophic disasters on their own.

So far in 2025, FEMA has granted $294.7 million to disaster survivors. This year’s hurricane season is expected to be particularly intense and potentially deadly, according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric istration.

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