Tag Archives: FEMA

CNN reports: Trump emergency management officials are discussing reforms that would make it much harder for communities to qualify for federal disaster assistance, honoring President Donald Trump’s executive order to shift more responsibility for disaster response and recovery to states rather than the federal government. A memo from acting FEMA administrator Cameron Hamilton [photo], a Trump appointee, outlines a long …

Courthouse News reports: A federal judge on Friday ruled that the Trump administration had violated his order to halt sweeping freezes to federal funding by withholding Federal Emergency Management Agency funds to at least 19 states. It seemed to be a “covert” effort to punish states with so-called sanctuary laws for immigrants, the judge said. In March, U.S. District Judge …

E&E News reports: The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency was given a lie detector test by the Department of Homeland Security to determine if he leaked information about a recent private meeting concerning FEMA, two former senior FEMA officials told POLITICO’s E&E News. The test was given to FEMA acting Administrator Cameron Hamilton after he met March 25 …

The Washington Post reports: Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem and other Trump administration officials expressed support in meetings this week for dramatically diminishing the role of the FEMA, with the aim of all but eliminating the embattled agency’s role in disaster recovery by Oct. 1. Asked about the discussions, a DHS spokesperson said in an email, “We …

Semafor reports: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told a Cabinet meeting Monday that the department would move to “eliminate” the government’s disaster relief agency, days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing state and local governments to “play a more active and significant role” in responding to catastrophes. Noem, whose department oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has …

The Associated Press reports: FEMA announced Saturday that National Fire Academy courses were canceled amid a “process of evaluating agency programs and spending to ensure alignment with Administration priorities,” according to a notice sent to instructors, students and fire departments. Instructors were told to cancel all future travel until further notice. “The NFA is a powerhouse for the fire service,” …

“FEMA spent tens of millions of dollars in Democrat areas, disobeying orders, but left the people of North Carolina high and dry. It is now under review and investigation. “THE BIDEN RUN FEMA HAS BEEN A DISASTER. FEMA SHOULD BE TERMINATED! IT HAS BEEN SLOW AND TOTALLY INEFFECTIVE. INDIVIDUAL STATES SHOULD HANDLE STORMS, ETC., AS THEY COME. “BIG SAVINGS, FAR …

Politico reports: “I would say, yes, get rid of FEMA the way it exists today,” Noem said Sunday. “We still need the resources and the funds and the finances to go to people that have these types of disasters, like Hurricane Helene and the fires in California, but you need to let the local officials make the decisions on how …

“The Democrats don’t care about North Carolina. What they’ve done with FEMA is so bad. FEMA is a whole ‘nother discussion because all it does is complicate everything. FEMA has not done their job for the last four years. “You know, I had FEMA working really well. We had hurricanes in Florida, we had Alabama, tornadoes. But unless you have …

High Point’s Fox affiliate reports: A man is being charged after being accused of threatening FEMA workers in western North Carolina, according to the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office. At around 12:54 p.m. on Saturday, deputies got a report of a man with an assault rifle who made a comment about possibly harming FEMA workers providing Hurricane Helene disaster relief. The …

The Washington Post reports: Federal emergency response personnel on Saturday had employees operating in hard-hit Rutherford County, N.C., stop working and move to a different area because of concerns over “armed militia” threatening government workers in the region. An official with the U.S. Forest Service sent an urgent message to numerous federal agencies warning that “FEMA has advised all federal …

ABC News reports: President Joe Biden on Friday said he believes his administration is “breaking through with the truth” when it comes to misinformation surrounding the federal response to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. Though Biden also continued his vocal criticism of former President Donald Trump, who he said was “not singularly to blame” for the proliferation of false claims …

Politico reports: Hurricane Milton’s rampage is not swaying House Republican leaders who oppose returning to Washington to approve billions of dollars for disaster assistance. President Joe Biden on Thursday said lawmakers should return to Capitol Hill “immediately” from their preelection recess, echoing pleas from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers from the afflicted states. “To be clear: Congress will act again …

Bloomberg News reports: President Joe Biden said Congress should come back to pass emergency relief after Hurricane Milton wreaked havoc overnight on Florida’s Gulf Coast, leaving millions without power and causing tornadoes that killed at least ten people. “I think the Congress should be coming back and moving on emergency needs immediately,” Biden said at the White House on Thursday. …

The Associated Press reports: President Joe Biden on Thursday publicly admonished Donald Trump, telling his predecessor to “get a life, man” and try to help people impacted by a pair of devastating hurricanes rather than spreading misinformation about the federal response. Speaking at the White House on the government’s work to address Hurricanes Milton and Helene, Biden condemned the “reckless, …

CNN reports: Vice President Kamala Harris sought to counter rampant misinformation around the federal government’s response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton Wednesday, telling CNN in an interview that comments suggesting that federal assistance has run out from former President Donald Trump and his allies is “unconscionable” and could serve to discourage people in the path of the storm from seeking …

The Hill reports: A mayor in Tennessee joined other local officials Friday to denounce skepticism and rumors that have swirled around the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) response to the devastation in the southeastern U.S. from Hurricane Helene. Mayor Glenn Jacobs (R), who serves Knox County, Tenn., signaled in a post online that the attacks on the administration could make …

Washington DC’s Fox affiliate reports: President Joe Biden is expected to address the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene at 10:30 a.m. today in the White House Roosevelt Room. The Category 4 hurricane hit Florida’s Big Bend area Thursday night before traveling across the southeast, impacting parts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. Helene hit hardest in western North …

“They’re playing politics. Some people don’t want to do money to help victims of natural disaster in our own country because they want more money for things like Ukraine and things halfway around the world. And I think they need to stop playing politics with it and just get it done. We are way more proactive than any other state …

Via press release from the White House: President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. has declared that an emergency exists in the State of Florida and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Tropical Storm Debby beginning on August 1, 2024, and continuing. The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland …