After stepping in to handle disaster relief in North Carolina, President Donald Trump has criticized FEMA’s slow response and suggested that the agency may need to be replaced. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that within five days, 80% of outstanding cases were resolved—something FEMA failed to do in months under Biden’s leadership.
Trump visited the region and spoke with residents, many of whom had gone more than three months without proper assistance. “Some residents still don’t have hot water, drinking water, or anything else,” he said, calling the situation unacceptable. He noted that at one point, half of all emergency calls to FEMA went unanswered.
The administration has worked quickly to fill in the gaps left by FEMA. Noem highlighted that over $54 million in aid had been secured for the state and that 2,600 additional families had finally been registered for assistance. “President Trump came in and visited this community, and in less than 20 days secured over $54 million for families in need,” she stated.
FEMA’s performance has been widely criticized beyond North Carolina, with concerns over its handling of California wildfires and previous disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. Trump has suggested that it may be time to overhaul or even eliminate the agency entirely. Noem indicated that discussions are already taking place on shifting disaster relief funds directly to states instead of relying on FEMA’s bureaucracy.
“President Trump has committed, and I’m committed with him, to bringing FEMA into the 21st century,” Noem said. She noted that one of the proposed changes would involve block grants that let local governments control how funds are spent instead of waiting on a slow-moving federal agency.
Despite FEMA reporting that 153,000 households have received some form of assistance, Trump’s administration has pushed for a faster and more effective process. His executive order reviewing FEMA’s operations could bring significant changes in the near future.
