On Friday, when touring the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene floods in North Carolina, a state he has said “has been abandoned by the Democrats,” President Donald Trump hinted that he would abolish the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Trump’s remarks coincided with his trip to California, where wildfires have devastated the Los Angeles region, and as Republicans on Capitol Hill start to balance Trump’s promises to assist in the reconstruction of both states with conservatives’ demands for budget cutbacks. Trump is traveling outside of Washington for the first time since his inauguration on Monday.
Regarding FEMA’s efforts in North Carolina, a swing state he won three times, he told reporters, “This is probably one of the clearest examples of it not working.” He aimed to draw a comparison between his leadership and what he claimed was Democratic ineptitude.
He went on to say that he would soon disband the organization and give funds to states directly so they can oversee their own disaster assistance programs.
In addition, he announced that he was appointing North Carolina-born Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, a political buddy, to work with Democratic Governor Josh Stein to spearhead the state’s recovery.
When asked how he would address the issues facing North Carolina, Trump responded that he was “not really thinking about FEMA right now.” Rather, he indicated Whatley and three congressional Republicans.
“I believe that the state should be responsible for resolving any issues that arise. The president stated, “That is why we have states: they solve issues, and a governor may take care of things very rapidly.”
He characterized FEMA as slow, excessively bureaucratic, and costly for the federal government, saying it “has been a very huge letdown.”
He declared, “FEMA’s turned out to be a disaster.” “I believe we are going to suggest that FEMA be abolished and that the state be compensated directly or in proportion, and that the state should make the necessary corrections.”
According to a source familiar with the situation, FEMA officials rushed to interpret his remarks in North Carolina on Friday, with staff members all over the country phoning and texting one another to attempt to comprehend what his remarks meant for the agency’s future and operations on the ground.
Trump’s trip comes after he spoke extensively about both aid for California and North Carolina, and how and whether to fund it, in his meeting earlier this week with House and Senate Republican leadership, a person in the room said.
With Republicans now controlling both chambers of Congress, and conservatives demanding that spending be reined in, Trump and congressional leaders will also have to find ways to offset any disaster relief spending.
Multiple GOP leaders stressed in Tuesday’s meeting that they needed to be “cognizant of how we pay for the bills,” the person in the room said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, according to the attendee, said of the next Congress: “We have got to get our spending under control.”
Both Trump and Johnson have criticized California’s water management, and Johnson said lawmakers could put conditions on disaster relief for the state. Several Republicans who won close House races in California have pushed back, including Rep. Young Kim, who represents a battleground district in Orange County.
“We cannot play politics with Americans’ livelihoods,” Kim said Thursday on X. “If more federal aid is needed to support first responders combatting wildfires, we must deliver.”
Still, on Friday, Trump laid out what he said will be conditions for aid to California, saying he wants the state to require voter identification and for “water to be released.”
“You want to have proof of citizenship. Ideally, you have one day voting. But I just want voter ID as a start. And I want the water to be released, and they’re going to get a lot of help from the US,” Trump told reporters upon landing in North Carolina.
Trump is seeking to have much of his agenda win passage on Capitol Hill as part of a reconciliation spending bill. He told reporters on Tuesday he believes requests from Democrats for fire aid for the Los Angeles area will make passing that major bill “simpler.”
“They’re going to need a lot of money, and generally speaking, I think you find that a lot of Democrats are going to be asking for help,” Trump said.
In the interview with Hannity, he claimed that while Democrats will seek federal aid for California, Democrats also “don’t care” about North Carolina
