CAPE CORAL, Fla. — With hurricane season reaching its peak this week, questions continue to swirl about the Federal Emergency Management Agency's future and its ability to respond to disasters. The Trump administration has been discussing major changes to FEMA's structure, including potentially removing it from the Department of Homeland Security.
Southwest Florida Rep. Byron Donalds has been pushing for significant reforms to the agency. Donalds recently co-sponsored legislation that is now part of the larger FEMA Reauthorization Act, which would remove FEMA from the supervision of the Department of Homeland Security and restore it as an independent, cabinet-level agency reporting directly to the president.
"The Homeland Security Department is a bureaucratic mess...period," Donalds said.
The congressman argues that the current structure creates unnecessary delays during critical disaster response periods.
"When you are dealing with the aftermath of a storm, people don't have time for some bureaucrat to get through their checklist. They need action. They need answers," Donalds said.
The proposal has found support from unexpected quarters. Former FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, who served under President Biden, backs the idea of restructuring the agency.
"We see additional layers of administrative burden that have been put in place that are slowing down the ability to move those resources," Criswell said.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has also expressed support for reorganizing FEMA.
"We can end up putting this agency in the best place and position possible to be reformed and remade," Noem said.
President Trump has indicated that states should shoulder more responsibility for disaster response and recovery. Donalds supports whatever changes the president implements.
"However the President wants to redesign FEMA, it will be a marked improvement over the FEMA we know right now," Donalds said.
"Talk to the Americans that had to deal with FEMA, on day-to-day bases. They know that system is broken," he added.
However, not everyone agrees that reducing federal involvement is the right approach. Andrew Morris, a professor of history at Union College in New York who studies natural disaster response, warns that states may struggle without federal assistance.
"Historically overtime, states have found it very, very difficult in the aftermath of major disasters, to handle those big-ticket items, like rebuilding roads, bridges, getting people back into housing," Morris said.
Despite the ongoing discussions about FEMA's future, Donalds assures that the federal government will be prepared to respond during this hurricane season.
"They will be fine, and they will be there. President Trump has his finger on the pulse of this matter," Donalds said.
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