Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency were blindsided Monday when Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said during a televised Cabinet meeting, “We’re going to eliminate FEMA.”
Her comments added to the uncertainty that has surrounded the disaster agency since President Donald Trump proclaimed in January that he was thinking about disbanding FEMA, only to signal last week that he might keep it after narrowing the government’s responsibility when responding to emergencies. On Monday, Noem didn’t offer additional details about the future of the agency, leaving FEMA officials and others baffled by her remark in the White House.
“We heard about it on TV like everyone else,” a FEMA official told POLITICO’s E&E News. The official was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
Noem made the seemingly unscripted comment after Trump asked her to talk about “what’s happening and how well we’ve done at the border.”
