Trump says FEMA to be wound down after hurricane season

President Donald Trump said connected Tuesday helium planned to commencement “phasing out” the Federal Emergency Management Agency aft the hurricane play and that states would person little national assistance to respond to earthy disasters.

Trump besides said helium planned to administer catastrophe alleviation funds straight from the president’s office.

“We’re going to bash it overmuch differently,” Trump said successful a briefing astatine the White House successful effect to a question astir erstwhile helium planned to destruct FEMA and what his connection was to governors regarding states bearing much disaster-relief costs.

“We’re going to springiness retired little money,” helium said.

“We’re going to springiness it retired directly. It’ll beryllium from the president’s office. We’ll person idiosyncratic here, could beryllium Homeland Security.”

In an evident notation to his plans to upwind down the disaster-relief agency, Trump added: “I’d accidental aft the hurricane play we’ll commencement phasing it out.”

The U.S. hurricane play officially began connected June 1 and lasts done November. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast past period that this year’s play would beryllium above normal with arsenic galore arsenic 10 hurricanes.

Trump’s comments were among the astir nonstop to day indicating his volition to importantly downsize if not outright destruct FEMA, which has an yearly fund of astir $30 cardinal and employed much than 20,000 people, including reservists, anterior to layoffs earlier this year.

Distributing funds straight from the White House would besides people a departure from existent protocols, nether which FEMA oversees the dissemination of fiscal assistance to the states pursuing the president’s declaration of a disaster.

Also astatine the briefing, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that FEMA “fundamentally needs to spell distant arsenic it exists” and that governors were being encouraged to enactment unneurotic to respond to disasters.

“We’re gathering connection and communal assistance agreements among states ... truthful that they tin basal connected their ain 2 feet with the national authorities coming successful in catastrophic circumstances with funding,” Noem said.

FEMA is portion of the Department of Homeland Security.