Trump-Appointed FEMA Review Council Recommends Cutting Agency Staff by Half and Giving States More Control Over Disaster Response

A panel appointed by President Donald Trump released a 75-page report on Thursday recommending sweeping changes to FEMA. The FEMA Review Council called for a substantial reduction in the agency’s workforce by roughly 50 percent and a transfer of core emergency response obligations from the federal government to state and local authorities.

The council, which has 10 additional members and is chaired by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, submitted its report 15 months after Mr.

Trump created the panel shortly after his inauguration in 2025. It reviewed 11,708 public submissions, surveyed 1,387 state, local, tribal and territorial governmental and nongovernmental partners, engaged all 50 states and territories, and held listening sessions in 13 cities plus four tribal sessions. ” The report stated, “It is time to close the chapter on FEMA.

It called for the agency to shift from a District of Columbia-centric bureaucracy to a new, lean coordination-focused workforce that empowers State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial officials. , FEMA currently employs about 20,000 people and maintains 10 regional offices throughout the country.

The council proposed a phase-in over two or three years in which the agency cuts bloated staff in its Washington headquarters and sends people into the field.

The panel said the current incarnation of FEMA should be scrapped but the government still needs some national organization to help states when they get overwhelmed by disasters. It recommended reducing the minimum FEMA share of post-disaster public assistance from 75 percent to 50 percent and lowering individual housing assistance from 100 percent to a 75 percent share.

” The council’s recommendations are not legally binding.

Many would require congressional approval. FEMA was established in 1979 and is overseen by DHS. It delivers individual assistance to people affected by federally declared disasters, provides public grants for debris removal and infrastructure restoration, and funds projects to mitigate future disasters.

The agency spent an average of $12 billion each year on disaster relief between 1991 and 2021, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Trump had suggested cutting FEMA staff by 50 percent – or even getting rid of the agency altogether – in 2025.

This year a number of unions, local governments and other interest groups filed a lawsuit seeking to block reported plans by the Trump administration to cut more than 10,000 roles at FEMA.