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President Donald Trump wants to cut off the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), but lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are trying to promote FEMA to cabinet-level agencies.
FEMA is currently housed under the Department of Homeland Security, but according to a draft legislative discussion released Thursday, the home effort solidifies FEMA as an independent institution.
Chair Sam Graves, Chairman of the Home Transport and Infrastructure Committee, R-Mo. and Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), a ranking member of the committee, is at the forefront of the law.
Other proposals included in the bill direct the Administration to create a centralized website that tracks disaster relief recovery across the federal government, allowing FEMA to create a bill for repairs to homes affected by disasters.
Currently, FEMA only covers the costs of making homes more comfortable to live in after a disaster.
“FEMA is not good”: Trump announces agency overhaul during his visit to North Carolina
Workers, community members and business owners will clean up debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Helen in Marshall, North Carolina on Monday, September 30, 2024 (Washington Post via Javin Botsford/Getty Images)
“By publishing draft legislation for this discussion, we hope to attract colleagues and stakeholders to comprehensive FEMA reforms,” Graves said in a statement Thursday. “This draft bill includes substantial changes that will turn FEMA and our emergency programs into much more state and locally driven.
While Trump and Homeland Security’s Department of Christa Noem have expressed support for the eradication of FEMA, former representative FEMA manager Cameron Hamilton warned against stealing the agency on Wednesday.
“I don’t think it’s Americans’ greatest interest to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” Hamilton told lawmakers on Wednesday on the House Ways and Means Committee.
“That being said, I’m not in a position to make a decision,” Hamilton said. “It’s a conversation that should take place between the President of the United States and this governing body.”
However, Hamilton, who previously served as a hospital corps in Seal Team 8 in the US Navy and began leading FEMA in January, was expelled from the Post on Thursday.
Playing FEMA administrator after opposing Trump’s agency plan
Cam Hamilton, a former acting FEMA administrator who previously served as Seal Team 8 in the US Navy and began leading FEMA in January, began leading FEMA on Thursday. (Pete Malovich/Getty Images)
FEMA confirmed Thursday to Fox News Digital that Hamilton was not at the agency.
A few days after taking office in January, Trump visited North Carolina to oversee the state’s efforts to recover from Hurricane Helen after more than 120 days after the storm hit the state. On the trip, Trump came up with a plan to connect FEMA, which overseen disaster relief efforts, to his gut.
“I will also sign an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA, or removing FEMA,” Trump told reporters in North Carolina. “Frankly, I don’t think FEMA is good.”
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The executive order established a review council to assess potential reforms to FEMA, including whether Asment’s bureaucracy limits its ability to respond appropriately to disasters. Similarly, Trump’s budget proposal includes plans to cut nearly $650 million in FEMA grants.
On Tuesday, Noem told lawmakers he supported his statement that Trump should counteract FEMA’s current setup.
“He believes that FEMA and its response in many situations have failed the American people and that FEMA that exists today should be eliminated,” Noem said.
Diana Stancy is a political reporter for Fox News Digital, covering the White House.
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