.png)
6 hours ago
7 ARTICLE AD
Donald Trump voiced his grievances about FEMA after he returned to the White House. The Republican promptly signed a variety of executive orders, one of which is a possibility that he claimed would “begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA, or maybe getting rid of FEMA.” Trump recently issued the termination of DEI federal offices and programs, so how many FEMA employees would a change or removal affect?
“I think, frankly, FEMA is not good,” Trump said in January 2025 in Fletcher, North Carolina. “FEMA has really let us down, let the country down. And I don’t know if that’s [Joe] Biden’s fault or whose fault it is, but we’re going to take over it. We’re going to do a good job.”
The president then stated he might axe FEMA’s involvement in natural disasters, saying, “In other words, the aid will go through us. So, rather than going through FEMA, it will go through us. And I think maybe this is a good place to start, because, and in all fairness to the governor, in all fairness to everybody else, FEMA was not on the ball, and we’re going to turn it all around.”
Learn more about FEMA, its employees and its purpose below.
President Trump in North Carolina: "FEMA has really let us down. Let the country down. I don't know if that's Biden's fault or whose fault it is, but we're going to take over an we're going to do a good job." pic.twitter.com/pNpY8NyOyL
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 24, 2025
What Does FEMA Stand for?
FEMA stands for Federal Emergency Management Agency.
What Does FEMA Do?
The agency was designed to help the United States prepare for and recover from various natural disasters. FEMA works with local governments to help those who were impacted by a disaster, such as losing a home in a wildfire or a hurricane.
FEMA only steps into a local situation when a state makes a formal request to the government for federal aid or when the natural disaster overwhelms local officials’ abilities. The president must then sign a declaration affirming that the area would receive assistance.
How Many Employees Work for FEMA?
According to FEMA’s official website, the agency employs more than 20,000 staffers around the U.S. Trump has not claimed any FEMA employees would lose their jobs. However, his comments about possibly “getting rid of FEMA” caused confusion. It’s unclear how the Trump administration would dismantle the federal agency.
