FEMA Under Threat of Shutdown Amidst Increasing Climate Disasters

Date: March 27, 2025

Meteorology Matters outlines the critical situation surrounding the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in March 2025. As the Trump administration signals its intent to eliminate the agency, FEMA is already experiencing significant internal turmoil, including stalled disaster assistance, frozen grant money, and a hiring freeze. This coincides with new data from the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and CNN analysis revealing a near-record number of climate-related major disaster declarations in the US in 2024 – one every four days. The potential dismantling or significant weakening of FEMA raises serious concerns about the nation's ability to prepare for and respond to an increasing frequency and intensity of climate-driven disasters.

Main Themes and Important Ideas/Facts:

1. Trump Administration's Intent to Eliminate FEMA and Resulting Agency Turmoil:

• Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has vowed to "eliminate FEMA."
• Top officials from FEMA and DHS, including Noem, FEMA Acting Administrator Cameron Hamilton, and Corey Lewandowski, met to discuss options for shutting down the agency, potentially moving faster than President Trump's established FEMA Review Council.
• These actions and stated intentions have already caused significant turmoil within FEMA.
• Stalled Preparedness: "March is typically when we’re finalizing hurricane plans. A lot of that got paused," according to a FEMA official working on disaster response. "So, it’s already having an impact, which is that we’re not preparing."
• Hiring Freeze and Workforce Reduction: A hiring freeze is in place, and a new process requires Secretary Noem's team to directly approve the renewal of many agency workers, including those in public-facing roles critical to disaster response.
• FEMA Acting Administrator Cameron Hamilton submitted a plan to Secretary Noem outlining an approach to reduce the agency's staffing posture.
• Fear and Uncertainty Among Staff: FEMA officials express fear about job security and the ability to focus on their work amidst the uncertainty. "It’s now a fear of, what else? Are we able to get back to work and focus? Our feeling is, no, there will be something else that will pop up that’s going to require a lot of our attention."
• Frozen Funds: Over $100 billion in previously awarded grant money and disaster assistance was frozen due to a lack of guidance on ensuring compliance with Trump's executive orders restricting funding for immigration programs and sanctuary cities. While guidance has reportedly been issued, concerns about disruption persist.
• Chilling Effect: The firing of four FEMA employees, including the CFO, for approving grant money to New York City to help shelter migrants has created a "chilling effect" on FEMA workers who now fear repercussions for misconstrued payments.