President Donald Trump’s decision to gut America’s emergency disaster response organization has left the United States vulnerable to upcoming natural disasters — and now Trump is scrambling, likely too late, to fix his problem.
Describing the decision of his past Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, to withhold billions in money from FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency), CNN’s Gabe Cohen reported that “Vice President JD Vance suggested it was FEMA’s inability to get money out the door that truly did her in. By the end of last year, FEMA was sitting on more than $15 billion in unspent funds, according to sources and internal figures reviewed by CNN. Lawmakers across the country, including many Republicans, were left fuming after months of asking for disaster money that had been awarded yet still awaited Noem’s signature.”
Cohen added that “during her 13 months running DHS, Noem, along with her de facto chief of staff Corey Lewandowski, waged war on FEMA, throttling operations, stalling payments, and driving out most of the senior leadership and by one count roughly 20% of the workforce. Amid the havoc, multiple sources told CNN the agency failed to make critical payments — from basic utilities to security operators that protect dangerous materials like anthrax.”
Realizing that America is now uniquely vulnerable because the upcoming summer will likely bring with it natural disasters from wildfires to tropical storms, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is reportedly working frantically to reverse many of the budget cuts and bureaucratic red tape that Noem had implemented.
“Court records in a separate lawsuit show DHS coordinated much of the overhaul over dozens of chats on the messaging app Signal, some of which have been wiped, with lawyers raising concerns that evidence was destroyed,” Cohen reported. “In a remarkable turnaround, Trump has tapped Cameron Hamilton to lead FEMA — for the second time. In May 2025, Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL, was fired from his acting role atop the agency after telling lawmakers he didn’t support the administration’s plans to abolish FEMA. His exit accelerated an already chaotic effort to dismantle the agency — just as his return underscores the level of damage control the White House is now attempting.”
As one DHS official told Cohen about Hamilton, “If you’d asked me 11 months ago, I would have said it’s more likely we deport him than he gets that job.”
Later Cohen reported how “in May 2025, CNN reported that an internal review found FEMA was ‘not ready’ for hurricane season. Hamilton pushed back on efforts to degrade the agency but by then, plans to oust him were already in the works.”
He added, “Just hours before Hamilton was set to testify on Capitol Hill, he learned security was preparing to cut off his badge access. DHS told him it was a mistake; Hamilton believed his removal was imminent, three sources said.”
Last year it was reported that Noem vowed to “eliminate” FEMA, with Trump laying off hundreds of staff that focused on resilience and preparedness. At the time, this was reportedly motivated in large part by the administration’s determination to downplay the effects of man-made climate change. The president also signed an executive order requiring state and local governments to “play a more active and significant role in national resilience and preparedness” and ordered agencies to “streamline” their efforts to address disasters.
