FEMA was absorbed by DHS in 2003, prompting criticism that its highly bureaucratic nature rendered the agency ineffective in addressing natural disasters.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order giving the federal government more control over California’s water management after sparring with Democrats, who he said have slow-walked Los Angeles’s recovery efforts.

They registered for FEMA assistance, but got a letter of non-approval. After a 90-minute call to the agency’s helpline and a long day at a FEMA recovery center, they learned they needed more insurance documents. But their insurance agent’s office also burned down. Now they have the documents, but can’t figure out how to upload them to FEMA.

The acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency wrote to staff reassuring them that the agency's continued existence was vital to the country's disaster response efforts, after President Donald Trump said he wanted to overhaul or scrap it.

President Donald Trump on Sunday issued an executive order establishing a review council for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, just days after he floated shuttering the agency whose resources are strained following multiple weather-related disasters and which is burdened by past failures in handling massive storms.

Trump visited areas impacted by flooding in North Carolina and fires in California. He suggested abolishing FEMA and putting conditions on fire aid.

President Donald Trump says he wants to reshape the Federal Emergency Management Agency as the U.S. faces the formidable task of rebuilding after Hurricane Helene storm damage in the southeast and dev

House Speaker Mike Johnson is backing a variety of play calls President Trump made in his first week in office, including a decision to fire government watchdogs across most Cabinet-level departments.

On Friday, the president floated the idea of abolishing FEMA while visiting Asheville, North Carolina, which is still suffering from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene in September.

In the first official trip of his second term, Trump also threatened to withhold disaster aid to California unless the state enacts a voter ID law.

In North Carolina, FEMA seemed completely incapable of dealing with the unique and dangerous mountainous terrain that many local officials know like the back of their hand.