By: Julia Valencia

Opinion Editor 

President Donald Trump appointed a panel that is making a push to change the way that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) functions, proposing cuts that would limit the extent to which the agency could help and would place more financial responsibility on states. The FEMA review council, which Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth led, suggested financial restrictions on May 7, mainly criticizing FEMA’s long-term recovery attempts and partisan efforts. 

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter signed Executive Order 12127, which was initially designed to combine civil defense and disaster preparedness under one organization. In 2003, FEMA became a part of the Department of Homeland Security following the Sep. 11, 2001 attacks. FEMA leads the federal response to disasters that overwhelm local authorities, supporting communities during and after an emergency. They work to prepare areas that are in high-risk zones and cover costs to make affected communities livable again. 

At the beginning of his second term, Trump suggested that FEMA should “go away” entirely, to which the panel quickly advised against, and recommended an updated program instead. In the FEMA panel’s 75-page report, they made numerous recommendations, mainly focusing on redirecting funds meant for long-term recovery (permanent infrastructure repairs, housing recovery support, economic recovery support) to immediate response of areas dealing with disaster. They emphasized a shift of responsibility from the federal government to the individual states and claimed that states should have the ability to decide where relief funds go instead of having to follow strict federal guidelines. 

The panel’s decision is coming at a time of extreme uncertainty for natural disasters in the future. Climate change continues to affect the nation, with the U.S. spending more than $100 billion in 2025 on damages. Scientists speculate that the planet will likely experience a particularly strong El Niño weather pattern later in 2026 and into 2027, mainly bringing extreme rainfall. Despite this, the panel continues to suggest budget cuts, like in July of 2025 when FEMA suggested cutting one billion dollars of disaster preparedness and homeland security grants. Additionally, FEMA lost roughly a third of its full-time staffers due to firings, retirements, and resignations by May of this year, placing a strain on the functionality of the organization. 

As the FEMA review panel begins implementing certain decisions and advocating for more changes, Americans must pay attention to these revisions and understand how they could impact society in the future.

(Sources: CBS, CNN, FEMA, NPR, NY Times)