Kristi Noem backtracks on FEMA, says Trump wants it 'remade'

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DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, pictured testifyingduring a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Department of Homeland Security hearing in May, said on Sunday that President Donald Trump wants FEMA to be "remade." File Photo by Anna Rose Layden/UPI | License Photo
July 13 (UPI) -- In a shift, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appeared Sunday to walk back earlier plans for a sweeping dismantling of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, saying President Donald Trump instead wants to "remake" it.
"I think the president recognizes that FEMA should not exist the way that it always has been. It needs to be redeployed in a new way, and that's what we did during this response," Noem said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
"It's not just FEMA that can respond in these situations. The federal government has all kinds of assets, and we deployed them," she said, pointing to the use of the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection in recent emergencies.
Noem's comments came months after she privately proposed stripping FEMA of its long-term recovery and grant-making responsibilities, as reported by Politico in March. They also follow an executive order from President Donald Trump that month that said state and local governments should take primary responsibility for disaster preparedness, and established a council to evaluate FEMA.
On April 7, House Democrats sent a letter to Noem, writing with concern about "mounting reports" that the Trump administration planned to eliminate FEMA, an action they called "unlawful." The lawmakers said Noem had promised to strengthen FEMA's capabilities during her Senate confirmation hearing but has since "undermined" the agency.
Days later, the White House Office of Management and Budget sent an internal memo that outlined plans to "rebalance" FEMA by shifting the agency's mission to "coordination and risk analysis," phase out grant programs, consolidate regional offices and trim staff.
In May, the acting head of FEMA, Cameron Hamilton, was removed a day after telling Congress that eliminating FEMA would "not be in the best interest of the American people." He was replaced by Marine veteran David Richardson -- who warned agency staff he would "run right over" anyone opposing Trump's plans.
Shortly after his appointment, Richardson introduced a plan dubbed "FEMA 2.0," which began a legal review of all agency programs not required by statute. The reorganization also included downsizing grant programs and consolidating regional offices.
Although Noem's comments Sunday struck a more measured tone, they come amid intensifying scrutiny over the Trump administration's handling of FEMA during the recent catastrophic flooding in Texas. As of Friday, at least 129 people were confirmed dead in the Texas Hill Country, with about 170 more still missing -- 103 fatalities occurred in Kerr County alone, including 27 campers and staff from Camp Mystic.
Heavy rains on Sunday forced authorities to pause ground search operations in the Guadalupe River corridor and evacuate volunteers amid flash flood warnings. The pause in recovery efforts underscores fears that fragmented coordination, partly blamed on FEMA's call-center staffing issues, could delay lifesaving assistance in future disasters.
In the background of the FEMA debate is a related dispute over the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. Trump officials have clashed with career meteorologists over shifting NOAA's focus toward commercial partnerships and away from public forecasting missions.
Though Noem's remarks suggest the administration may not seek to eliminate FEMA outright, the agency's long-term future and its role in responding to natural disasters remains uncertain.