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Trump calls FEMA a 'disaster' and considers eliminating the agency. Florida officials agree

FILE - President Donald Trump speaks as he meets with homeowners affected by Hurricane Helene in Swannanoa, N.C., Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Mark Schiefelbein
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AP
President Donald Trump speaks as he meets with homeowners affected by Hurricane Helene in Swannanoa, N.C., Friday, Jan. 24, 2025.

President Donald Trump, unhappy with the lag in getting money to people affected by disasters, has issued an executive order to create a FEMA review task force.

A proposal to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency is gaining ground. Some officials in Florida are backing the idea as they believe it would give states more control over disaster relief efforts.

President Donald Trump recently talked about the possibility of "getting rid of the agency" while surveying disaster sites in California and North Carolina.

“I’ll be signing an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA or maybe getting rid of FEMA," Trump told reporters on Jan. 24 in Asheville, North Carolina.

Asheville is still recovering from Hurricane Helene in September. Trump has criticized FEMA for being "too slow" in getting funds out to affected communities.

In discussing FEMA's future, Trump said he’d rather give federal recovery dollars directly to state governors, leaving them responsible for managing their own disasters.

“You want to use your state to fix it instead of calling FEMA and wasting time," said Trump. "FEMA gets here, they don’t know the area and they have never been to the area. ... FEMA has turned out to be a disaster.”


"Where's our money?"

In Florida's Taylor County, which is still recovering from three hurricanes — Idalia in 2023, Helene and Milton in 2024 — residents think the change could be a good thing.

"We have yet to receive any help on the total loss of our home from FEMA. We have jumped through every hoop they have sent our way, with no progress," Perry resident and local business owner David Hall told WFSU on Tuesday.

Hall, and his wife, Leslie, owns Spring Warrior Fish in Perry. Following Helene, the Hall's took cellphone images showing the fishing charter business in shambles.

The Halls told WFSU last Tuesday that they have yet to receive any money from FEMA damage from Helene, despite contacting the agency numerous times.

"We had no insurance after Hurricane Idalia; it's all out of pocket," David Hall said. "We may lose our business as well as our home due to not receiving any help."

Like the Halls, many other residents say they've been submitting paperwork but have not seen results.

Florida lawmakers siding with Trump

State Rep. Jason Shoaf, R-Port St. Joe, shares that frustration. He’s been helping Taylor County get back on its feet for two years.

Shoaf thinks FEMA slows down the recovery process and that Florida is better equipped to handle natural disasters like hurricanes than most federal agencies.

“States can do better on every level," Shoaf said at a Jan. 30 county legislative delegation meeting. "If they [the federal government] allocate[s] the resources that they normally would to each state, it would allow the states with that additional surplus of resources to do even better things for their people.”

Faster is not always better

Craig Fugate, a former FEMA administrator, said faster is not always better. Fugate served as the FEMA administrator from May 2009 to January 2017 under former President Barack Obama.

Fugate spoke with WFSU on Thursday and explained most people don’t understand FEMA’s limits and that certain regulations are in place to protect against bad actors.

President Barack Obama with FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Manuel Balce Ceneta
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AP
President Barack Obama with FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016.

“Congress wants FEMA to make sure that we get money to people fast, but we don't get money to people that aren't eligible; people that are fraudulently claiming they live somewhere or saying they have damages and they don't,” Fugate said.

Fugate also said that Florida has benefited from a lot of FEMA assistance programs, pointing to 2018, when Hurricane Michael hit the Panhandle. FEMA gave millions of dollars to families in grants, loans and flood insurance payments.

Fugate said while the process is not always the quickest, it works.

“This is your money," he added. "Are you going to give it with no strings attached — or do you want to make sure it goes toward the right thing and for things that are supposed to be paid for, gets paid and built back better?”

Trump got started with his initiative by issuing an executive order Jan. 24 to create a task force to keep a close watch on FEMA and advise the president on recommended changes.

Copyright 2025 WFSU

Adrian Andrews
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