President Donald Trump is turning to the Federal Emergency Management Agency — which he has assailed since taking office — for the second time in recent weeks for leadership.
Trump’s vow Monday to give FEMA “a key role” in dealing with a massive sewage spill near Washington comes three weeks after he celebrated FEMA’s expansive response to a snowstorm that swept across the nation. On social media Monday, Trump assailed Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore for his response to a broken sewer pipe that discharged more than 200 million gallons of untreated sewage into the Potomac River. Local officials said the spill would take roughly 10 months to fix.
“The Federal government has no choice but to step in. FEMA, which is currently being defunded by the Democrats, will play a key role in coordinating the response,” Trump wrote.
Trump’s reliance on FEMA illustrates its versatility — and political value — both of which have generated a surge of resistance to Trump’s vows to weaken the disaster-response agency. Trump’s Potomac focus also tracks his ongoing feud with Maryland’s governor.
