Internal document raises concerns over FEMA readiness
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is “not ready” for hurricane season, which starts June 1, an internal document warns as President Trump eyes eliminating the department entirely.
Internal slides obtained by The Hill state that, “As FEMA transforms to a smaller footprint, the intent for this hurricane season is not well understood, thus FEMA is not ready.”
The slides also state that per a hurricane season 2025 assessment, “resources are reduced” and the “quality of people lost cannot be replaced right away.”
And it says the routine readiness process “has been derailed this year due to other activities like staffing and contracts.”
FEMA is the federal agency in charge of coordinating responses to disasters, working alongside states and localities to do so. It also helps communities rebuild after they’ve been hit.
The agency has become a major target of the Trump administration, with the president and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem expressing interest in axing it.
The slides obtained by The Hill raise concerns about this approach.
“If an organization hears it should be eliminated or abolished, the resources and cooperation are not there. Intent cannot be wind down and be ready to support [the] nation in a major response,” the slides state.
CNN, which first detailed agency documents saying FEMA is “not ready” for hurricane season, reported that the finding comes at acting agency head David Richardson’s direction.
The Department of Homeland Security told CNN that FEMA “is fully activated in preparation for Hurricane Season.”
“The slide was used during a daily meeting Acting Administrator David Richardson has held every day titled Hurricane Readiness Complex Problem Solving. In other words, exactly what the head of an emergency management agency should be doing before Hurricane Season,” a spokesperson told the news outlet.
Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, I’m Rachel Frazin — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.
Congressional Republicans’ phase-out of the tax credits for climate friendly energy sources are expected to decimate the incentives and raise U.S. emissions.
Senate Republicans are unsettled by the Trump administration’s decision to fire Cameron Hamilton, the acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), for speaking out against Trump’s plan to shutter the agency.
Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and John Curtis (R-Utah) have launched a bipartisan push aimed at strengthening water infrastructure across the U.S. West — an arid region coping with a growing population and ever-dwindling resources.
News we’ve flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics:
An Effort to Kill Off Lawsuits Against Oil Giants Is Gaining Steam (The New York Times)
An ‘inland tsunami’: 15 million people are at risk from catastrophic glacial lake outbursts, researchers find (CNN)
The U.N. Secretary-General’s Searing Message for the Fossil-Fuel Industry (The New Yorker)
On Our Radar
Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
Next week
The House may vote to try to rescind a Biden administration air pollution rule
Tuesday
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is slated to appear before the House Appropriations Committees.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on the EPA’s budget.
The House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing titled “Mandates, Meddling, and Mismanagement: The IRA’s Threat to Energy and Medicine.”
Wednesday
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is slated to appear before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is slated to appear before the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright is slated to appear before the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The House Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on the budgets for the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation. Administration officials are slated to appear.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on ways to “enhance” mineral supply chains.
Senate Republicans are unsettled by the Trump administration’s decision to fire Cameron Hamilton, the acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), for speaking out against Trump’s plan to shutter the agency. Read more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed it is in the early stages of vetting a potential reality show that would have immigrants competing for a fast-track to citizenship. Read more
