‘Fraud and waste’: Trump’s administration member urges him to shut FEMA down
Kristi Noem, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Despite this, she believes that President Donald Trump “can and should” shut the agency down.
Dana Bash from CNN asked Noem about tech billionaire Elon Musk’s suggestion to abolish FEMA on X. The agency is crucial in disaster response and is funded by Congress. Bash asked Noem if President Trump “can and should” shut down FEMA. Noem agreed and thought that Trump can, and that the president is currently evaluating the shutdown of this agency with his team. She clarified that it wouldn’t be done abruptly and that they will work with Congress to make it happen.
“He still believes that there is a role for the federal government to come in and help people get back up on their feet,” the DHS Secretary explained. She argued that block grants would be better instead of having officials from Washington decide what works for a disaster-hit state. “But there’s a lot of fraud and waste and abuse out there. And since President Trump has taken over and come back into this administration, we’ve seen great changes so far.”
Not a party-wide stance
This wasn’t a surprising response from Noem. She too is a proponent of getting rid of FEMA. While she admits that states need the funding for disasters, decisions should be left to local and state officials. It seems like the official line from most Trump administration supporters is to cut down on “waste.” The term has been so loosely thrown around that nobody knows what they define as wasteful, as there has been a lack of transparency.
Nevertheless, not all members of the GOP agree with Trump or Noem’s sentiment. Several Republicans have voiced concerns over the disbanding of FEMA, especially those from states that are reliant on FEMA assistance. Senator Bill Hagerty and Senator Tommy Tuberville have both suggested something along the lines of an overhaul and reorganization but oppose the deletion of FEMA.
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