NEW HANOVER COUNTY — Changes to FEMA are coming at the conclusion of hurricane season, the nation’s top leader announced Tuesday. It has some local and regional leaders concerned, while another has confidence local governments will continue to work toward the best outcomes for area residents.
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President Donald Trump announced to the media in the Oval Office he would “phase out” the Federal Emergency Management Agency after this year’s hurricane season, now in effect through Nov. 30, 2025. The move has some local leaders, including Democratic Wilmington City Council member Salette Andrews, calling the proposal “deeply troubling.”
“In coastal communities like Wilmington, where hurricanes are not a matter of if but when, FEMA plays a critical role in helping residents recover and rebuild,” she wrote in an email to Port City Daily. “Phasing out FEMA risks delaying critical aid when people need it most. It’s hard to see how this move would make us safer or more prepared.”
President Trump wants to turn over the major lifting of disaster relief responsibilities to states and governors, something he has been advocating for since taking office in January.
“We’re going to give out less money,” Trump said Tuesday, noting the federal government would wean off funding and governors will take the primary role in leading communities into recovery. “If they can’t handle it, frankly, they shouldn’t be governor.”
The president, who also said he wanted to distribute funding directly from the White House, cannot unilaterally abolish or eliminate FEMA, as Congress set its core functions and structure into law. Though Jimmy Carter founded it by executive order in 1979, Congress established FEMA as a distinct agency within the Department of Homeland Security and defined its primary mission in the wake of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem envisions the restructuring to involve more communication and mutual aid agreements among states. Noem said Tuesday a FEMA Advisory Council will be set up in coming months to help with reforms and “empower governors” to run recovery responses.
Trump suggested state leadership should follow Missouri’s lead. Its governor, Mike Kehoe, asked for $120 million for recent tornado disaster recovery in St. Louis, estimated to have $1.6 billion in damage. The president agreed to a little more than half funding at $71 million.
“And he was happy with that,” Trump said at the press conference — only six days after Missouri senators signed off on $100 million in aid.
North Carolina Governor Josh Stein has been clear about the importance of FEMA, even appearing on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” last week to discuss its role in public safety. A spokesperson from the governor’s office wrote in an email to Port City Daily Wednesday: “Eliminating FEMA would be a man-made disaster; we need FEMA to help us address natural disasters.”
Currently, FEMA provides money to help states recuperate from disasters, including hurricanes, tornadoes and fires. The funds provided go toward displacement, temporary lodging, basic home repair costs, personal property loss, and other disaster-caused needs. Though the agency has been criticized for its slow-moving, red-tape bureaucracy.
Stein published an op-ed last month about ways to improve FEMA, including the agency becoming permanently in charge of rebuilding homes and businesses. FEMA normally provides temporary housing while awaiting funding from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for permanent repairs.
Stein also wants to see FEMA’s process more streamlined with a single application available for people to apply to multiple federal grants and resources more quickly. As well, the governor favors the issuance of block grants upfront to states that pre-submit an approved action plan.
Stein’s opinion piece came after CNN reported on a memo in April from FEMA Acting Administrator Cameron Hamilton sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget. It proposed the federal government pay no more than 75% of disaster recovery, with states covering 25%.
In times of devastating storms, such as Hurricane Helene last September, the president can approve supplemental coverage up to 100% of eligible costs, like for infrastructure repairs and debris removal. This was done in the western part of North Carolina following Helene, which caused around $60 billion in damage. Full federal cost-share was provided for six months — one of the longest in FEMA’s history.
However, Trump walked back the 100% coverage extensions in March this year, bringing down the fed’s share to 90%. The governor’s office noted this change jeopardizes around $2 billion in Helene response efforts.
So far the North Carolina General Assembly has provided $1.6 billion in recovery funds for Helene recovery.
Trump has been critical of FEMA’s response in western North Carolinians, having toured the area a month after Helene and again in January, one week after he was inaugurated. He criticized relief workers and unfoundedly accused FEMA of using its budget to help illegal migrants cross the border.
“FEMA has not been a successful experiment,” Trump said Tuesday. “Very, very expensive, and it doesn’t get the job done. You saw what happened in North Carolina under the former administration and when we got in, we did a great job for North Carolina, brought it back.”
FEMA’s 2026 budget comes in at $31.8 billion, less than 2025’s $33.08 billion. This year’s appropriation includes $26.5 billion in the Disaster Relief Fund — a pot of money that covers emergency recovery efforts from storms. North Carolina received $4.5 billion of it last year for Helene.
North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis introduced legislation earlier this week asking to boost the DRF by $25 billion. Port City Daily asked Tillis if he supported Trump’s decision to fold the agency, or at the very least reform it, but didn’t receive a response by press.
In addition to a third of FEMA’s workforce having exited due to Department of Government Efficiency cuts and early buyouts, the Trump administration rolled back FEMA’s enforcement of flood protection rules, froze its Disaster Legal Services program, and canceled the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Program, with all applications from fiscal years 2020-2023 null and void. New Hanover County has applied to BRIC funding before, according to spokesperson Alex Riley, though none were awarded.
The county has received FEMA reimbursements for storms that have affected the area, including $122.3 million in state and federal funds approved for Hurricane Florence. The city received $31 million so far in Florence-related supplemental funding from its $34-million request. Port City Daily asked both government entities for a breakdown of other FEMA funding received; this will be updated upon response.
New Hanover County commissioner Dane Scalise, Republican, said the county will remain steadfast in its resiliency efforts regardless of FEMA changes.
“In the event of a disaster, New Hanover County will do what we always do for our citizens: work with our federal and state partners to ensure that all necessary assistance is provided. I have no doubt that, regardless of who is in office or what programs are then in place, the President and/or Governor will be there for us when needed.”
Wilmington council member Andrews and Mayor Bill Saffo took an alternative view. Both didn’t agree with turning over more responsibility to the states. Saffo especially was concerned with Wilmington’s growing encounters with “once in a century” storms, many bringing 20 inches or more of rainfall in shorter timeframes, as seen during 2018’s Florence and last year’s unnamed storm, Potential Tropical Cyclone #8.
“FEMA played a large role in our ability to clean up overwhelming amounts of debris, make drainage repairs, and get people back into their homes. It was help we needed and help beyond what the state could have provided,” Saffo explained, noting the Port City residents are on the “front lines of vulnerability” when it comes to any changes made to the federal agency. “FEMA provides crucial assistance to states and communities before, during, and after disasters that they cannot replace on their own. When it comes to some matters, local and state governments are positioned to serve citizens without federal input, but hurricane recovery is not one of them.”
Andrews agreed and believed putting more of that load on the states could be perilous.
“Hurricanes don’t check jurisdiction before making landfall,” she said. “While states and governors have a central role to play, they often rely on the coordination and resources that only the federal government can provide. Expecting states to bear the brunt of disaster response on their own, without federal leadership and backup, sets them up to fail — especially smaller or rural states with fewer resources. We need a strong federal-state partnership, not a shifting of responsibility.”
Both Wilmington representatives favored ideas of FEMA evolving, however. Like Stein, Saffo noted the reimbursement process by the federal government can be slow, putting further strain on local governments. For instance, the city was still receiving funding to cover debris removal from Florence in 2023 five years after the storm hit — and continues to await $2.96 million to wrap its full request. Saffo said the rebuilding process can take years and so federal support is even more salient as to not to leave communities behind.
“Like any agency, FEMA can and should evolve to meet new challenges — from climate change to housing shortages in disaster zones,” Andrews added. “But ‘reform’ should mean improvement, not elimination.”
Port City Daily reached out to New Hanover County state officials, including Sen. Michael Lee (R), as well as House representatives Ted Davis (R), Deb Butler (D) and Charlie Miller (R) to gauge feedback on FEMA’s impending changes. Butler was the only person to respond, noting while FEMA has issues, the program has been a reliable partner overall to southeastern North Carolina communities that enjoy the beauty of the coast but also must endure Mother Nature’s wrath at times.
Butler advocates for paying into the federal program to create a pooled resource, like insurance, that helps during earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires, and the like. Leaving states to “row a boat” for themselves, she said, is setting them up for failure.
“But this administration seems willing to upend a proven system,” Butler said. “If there are ways to improve the program, let’s make that the goal. But abandoning FEMA would be a gross mistake. Let’s leave disaster recovery aid decisions to the professionals, not to those who would toss paper towels at Hurricane victims.”
DHS Secretary Noem told media this week FEMA is ready to respond to the storms predicted in this season, pre-staging resources in regions traditionally impacted. 2025 is expected to be an above-average season, including more than a dozen named storms, with half predicted to be major events, meaning winds exceeding 110 miles per hour.
She and defense secretary Pete Hegseth co-chair the Federal Emergency Management Agency Review Committee, tasked with assessing the efficiency of FEMA. The 12-member board was created at the behest of Trump in February and held its first meeting in May. Noem said at the top of the gathering that the president’s goal is to “eliminate FEMA as it exists today,” with the federal government only to provide “a supporting role” to the states, will be “like managing a state block grant model.”
In comments submitted to the FEMA review committee ahead of its meeting, the National Governors Association, on behalf of its Public Health and Disaster Response Task Force, noted states already carry a large burden of the costs.
“In FY 2023 alone, 60 disasters received major federal declarations and assistance. However, states and territories managed 23,910 additional incidents independently. This illustrates the responsibility states and territories already have, and thus, the importance of a timely and responsive federal partnership when necessary,” the association indicated. “The economic burden often extends beyond immediate recovery, straining state budgets and diverting resources from other critical services.”
The FEMA Review Committee is to report its findings to Trump by Nov. 16, two weeks before hurricane season ends.
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