Former FEMA leader says agency is safe from administration : NPR

Key Points:

• The Trump administration initially sought to dismantle FEMA, with President Trump calling for its elimination and efforts to drastically reduce its size and budget under DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
• David Richardson, who led FEMA in 2025, was tasked with cutting FEMA's headquarters staff from 6,000 to 2,000 but never received approval for major cuts, and the administration's stance shifted away from elimination.
• FEMA employees report that fears of agency abolition and mass layoffs have eased, though understaffing and delays in disaster recovery funding persist, as highlighted in a recent Government Accountability Office report.
• After Richardson's resignation and Noem's firing, new leadership under DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton is focusing on reforms and strengthening the agency rather than cuts, including pilot programs to speed disaster relief.
• Experts note that current reform efforts emphasize improving FEMA's efficiency and state responsibility for disasters, contrasting with earlier proposals for drastic downsizing, reflecting a more pragmatic approach to disaster management.