As we were publishing this episode, news from The New York Times broke that Jeremy Greenberg, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) disaster command center has left his post, a day after President Trump said he would wind down the federal agency by November. CBS reported that Tony Robinson, regional administrator of FEMA Region 6, which includes Ten Across states New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana, also intends to step down this week.  

Since January, President Trump has talked about his intent to eliminate or severely diminish the role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, relegating disaster response and recovery to the states. On Tuesday, he reiterated this goal and stated that no major changes would be made until after this year’s hurricane season.  

The administration's first six months, however, have already brought significant disruption to the agency's operations. One-third of its total staff has been laid off, an acting administrator was abruptly replaced after expressing support for the agency’s existence, and nearly all climate resilience grants and training programs directed at state and local preparation have been canceled. 

While criticism of the agency and calls for its reform are not new, FEMA has been central to U.S. emergency management for decades. Now, at the onset of the 2025 hurricane season, emergency management experts throughout the country are widely reporting concern about the nation’s readiness for disaster response.  

To help us make sense of these real and proposed changes in this episode, ‘disasterologist’ Dr. Samantha Montano returns to the podcast. Samantha will explain the origins of FEMA, valid areas for potential reform, and the issues inherent in turning its responsibilities over to the states— as environmental risks to lives and property in the Ten Across region become more difficult to insure.  

Relevant articles and resources:   

Listen to our first episode with Samantha  

More on the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season and related misinformation  

“Trumps says his administration wants to ‘wean’ states off FEMA aid after hurricane season” (CBS News, June 2025)  

“The dangers of a weakened FEMA ahead of an active hurricane season” (NPR, June 2025)  

“FEMA Is Not Prepared” (The Atlantic, June 2025)  

“FEMA leader fired after breaking with Trump administration on eliminating agency” (CBS News, May 2025)  

“States denied disaster aid as FEMA safety net begins to shrink” (KUOW, May 2025)  

Credits:  

Host: Duke Reiter  
Producer and editor: Taylor Griffith  
Music by: Rand Aldo and Lennon Hutton  
Research and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich and Sabine Butler  

About our guest: 

Samantha Montano is an assistant professor of emergency management at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and author of Disasterology: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis. Her research tracks the evolution of emergency management policy and practice, as well as perceptions of emergency management. You can follow her newsletter, Disasterology, here.