NOTE: This piece was first published in FLGulfNews.com.
By Richard Luthmann
President Donald J. Trump has set his sights on one of Washington’s most bloated and ineffective bureaucracies—the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In an executive order signed on January 24, President Trump launched an investigation into FEMA’s failures, promising to either overhaul or dismantle the agency entirely.
“FEMA has not done their job for the last four years,” President Trump declared. “You know, I had FEMA working really well. We had hurricanes in Florida. We had Alabama tornadoes. But unless you have certain types of leadership, it really gets in the way. And FEMA is going to be a whole big discussion very shortly because I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems.”
The early returns are promising, as Elon Musk, who has been working with President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to root out government waste, says they have already uncovered $50 billion in fraudulent federal payments, including “millions wasted by FEMA on mismanaged projects.”
The President’s plan has gained major traction with Republican governors, including Florida’s Ron DeSantis, who has battled numerous hurricanes and knows firsthand how slow and wasteful FEMA’s response can be. They laud the Trump FEMA overhaul.
DESANTIS: ‘CUT FEMA OUT ENTIRELY’
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was blunt when asked about Trump’s plan to reduce FEMA’s role in disaster response.
“Cut the bureaucracy of FEMA out entirely,” said DeSantis. “And that money will go further than it currently does at greater amounts going through FEMA’s bureaucracy.”
DeSantis and other governors from disaster-prone states argue that states know best how to handle emergencies. Florida has the most advanced hurricane response infrastructure in the country. Oklahoma and Alabama are the best at dealing with tornadoes. Western states know how to combat wildfires. Rockies states are the most adept at avalanche response.
The idea that Washington, D.C. bureaucrats should oversee these efforts is outdated and ineffective and, in many cases, smacks of the insane.
FEMA: A BLOATED FAILURE FROM DAY ONE
FEMA was created in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat known for expanding federal bureaucracy. Since its inception, FEMA has repeatedly failed in its primary mission—to provide timely and effective disaster relief.
The agency has been slow to act, riddled with inefficiency, and frequently misallocates resources.
Under the Biden administration, FEMA was politicized and mismanaged. Instead of prioritizing disaster relief for American citizens, the agency funneled millions to house illegal migrants in luxury hotels in New York City.
Elon Musk exposed the scandal, forcing FEMA to halt payments for migrant housing, but the damage had already been done. He fully supports the move to shrink FEMA.
Musk, leading a historic audit of federal agencies, has uncovered massive inefficiencies in FEMA’s spending.
“It’s a bloated mess,” Musk said. “Taxpayer money should go directly to the states and communities that need it, not through a slow, corrupt federal bureaucracy.”
Musk and DOGE are instrumental in the Trump FEMA overhaul. They have already uncovered $50 billion in fraudulent federal payments, including “millions wasted by FEMA on mismanaged projects.”
LEADERS FROM DISASTER STATES SUPPORT TRUMP, WHILE DEMOCRATS PANIC
In addition to DeSantis, Governors across the country are rallying behind President Trump’s plan to return disaster response to the states.
New Homeland Security Director and former South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, a strong Trump ally, agreed with the President’s assessment.
“Get rid of FEMA the way it exists today,” Noem said. “The federal government should not be the first responder. It should be the last resort.”
Louisiana Senator John Kennedy echoed the sentiment, speaking on the failed FEMA flood insurance program:
“We need a FEMA that looks like somebody designed it on purpose, and that’s not what we have right now. It’s a mess, and it’s very inefficient.”
Democrats are in full panic mode over President Trump’s common sense actions. Their beloved bureaucracy is on the chopping block, and they are scrambling to defend FEMA’s failures.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the move “reckless” despite FEMA’s widely documented inefficiencies and waste.
Schumer has his own problems as he faces an investigation for threatening U.S. Supreme Court Justices in 2020.
Under Biden, FEMA was more concerned with advancing climate change policies than providing effective disaster relief. By contrast, President Trump’s plan would put governors in charge of their own emergency response efforts, with direct funding instead of federal red tape.
THE NEW AMERICAN GOLDEN AGE: LOCAL CONTROL, NO WASTE
President Trump’s FEMA overhaul is part of his broader strategy to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in Washington. By shifting disaster response to the states, President Trump ensures that taxpayer money is used effectively and communities get the help they need faster.
“We’re bringing common sense back to government,” President Trump said. “We’re going to Make America Great Again, and that means fixing our broken disaster response system.”
The New American Golden Age is about putting power back where it belongs—with the states and the American people. The days of waiting for FEMA’s slow and wasteful response are over.
With President Trump in charge, America is finally getting the leadership it deserves.
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