Trump threatens to scrap emergency agency Fema

President Donald Trump said Friday he would consider signing an executive order to “fundamentally reform” or potentially eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), criticizing the agency’s disaster response during a tour of hurricane-damaged areas in western North Carolina.

Speaking to reporters in Asheville, Trump called Fema “not good” and “a disaster”, suggesting the agency is ineffective in responding to natural emergencies.

“I think we’re going to recommend that Fema go away,” the president told the pool.

The tour comes four months after Hurricane Helene devastated Buncombe county, where 42 people were killed and local damage is estimated at over $50bn. Trump received a briefing on recovery efforts and met with affected families during his visit.

Trump proposed giving governors more direct responsibility for disaster response, indicating he wants to redirect federal funding straight to states rather than through the federal agency.

Fema, with an annual budget in the tens of billions of dollars and more than 20,000 employees, would need congressional approval to be shuttered.

The president is scheduled to continue his disaster-area tour with his next stop in Los Angeles, where he will survey the wildfire-damaged regions in Pacific Palisades, as nearby fires still burn in southern California