FEMA's acting chief says agency will shift more disaster recovery
responsibilities to the states
[May 16, 2025]
By GABRIELA AOUN ANGUEIRA
The Federal Emergency Management Agency's acting chief plans to shift
responsibility for disaster recovery to states during the upcoming
hurricane season, he said during a staff town hall on Thursday.
David Richardson said his intention was to “return primacy to the
states” as part of an agencywide transformation.
In comments that cemented the Trump administration's intent to bring
about a major shift in the agency's mission, Richardson said FEMA's
intent for the 2025 “disaster season” will be to strengthen states'
abilities for response and recovery while coordinating federal
assistance “when deemed necessary.”
The comments dovetail with a broad-based effort by the Trump
administration to overhaul and downsize the federal government. They
come just 17 days before the start of the Atlantic hurricane season,
which scientists predict will see an above-average 17 named storms and
four major hurricanes. Richardson said FEMA was “to some degree, to a
great degree, ready for disaster season ’25,” and that he would be
submitting a plan for the season to Noem by next Friday.
The agency is in a period of upheaval as the Trump administration weighs
its future. President Donald Trump has floated “getting rid of” FEMA
altogether, an idea Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has echoed.
Richardson replaced former acting chief Cameron Hamilton last week, one
day after Hamilton told a congressional committee that he did not think
FEMA should be eliminated.
While Richardson downplayed the likelihood that FEMA would disappear
altogether, he said his role was to realize Trump's vision of how
disasters are managed, which he said means pushing a “large part” of
response and recovery to the states.
Some states, including Florida and Texas, are already adequately
prepared for disasters, according to the acting chief. Others should
prepare to shoulder more of the financial burden, he said, warning that
the typical federal 75% cost share for things like repairing public
infrastructure could change as soon as this summer.
“There should be some budgeting things that they have,” said Richardson.
“I bet (Texas) Governor Abbott has a rainy-day fund for fires,
tornadoes, hurricanes, and he doesn't spend it on something else.”
FEMA assistance is made available to states when a governor requests and
the president approves a major disaster declaration. Those decisions are
typically based on whether the event's impact exceeds the state's
capacity to respond.
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Clean up continues inside the fire station after flooding on
Wednesday, May 14, 2025 in Westernport, Md. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Trump has already signaled a departure from typical decision-making
around disaster declarations. He has denied requests from Washington
and West Virginia. Just this week, he approved a major disaster
declaration for storms that struck Arkansas in March after initially
denying the request.
The shift comes as the number of climate disasters in the United
States grows: There were 90 major disaster declarations in 2024, and
27 climate-related events that caused more than $1 billion in
damages.
While states typically lead disaster response, they rely on federal
resources as needed, said Jeremy Edwards, FEMA deputy director of
public affairs during the Biden Administration, and not every state
will be able to take on more of that responsibility.
“It’s unclear what they mean when they say returning primacy to the
states,” he said. “What does that mean when certain states don’t
have the resources in their own budgets to respond to and recover
from catastrophic events?”
Regarding long-term restructuring, Richardson said FEMA will begin a
“mission analysis” to ensure its activities are strictly limited to
what it is legally mandated to do.
“We will not do anything that is not in the statute,” he said. “If
we are, we are wasting the American people’s money.”
Trump has also established a 13-member FEMA review council, chaired
by Secretary Noem and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, to recommend
changes to the agency.
When asked if the reforms would result in further staff reductions,
Richardson said it was possible as more of the agency's functions
transfer to states. About 2,000 full-time staff have left the agency
since President Donald Trump took office in January, a loss of
roughly one-third of the agency’s full-time workforce.
He also said that while no programs were specific “targets” for
elimination, much depended on the results of the analysis.
“If you're outside of the statutory, you'll become a target,
period,” he said.
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Anguueira reported from San Diego.
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