President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Monday placing states and local jurisdictions in charge of disaster preparedness and response. The order prioritizes state and local leadership over federal oversight in handling natural disasters such as floods and wildfires.
According to Fox News, the measure “restores state, local, and individual empowerment in disaster preparedness and response, and injects common sense into infrastructure prioritization and strategic investments through risk-informed decisions that make our infrastructure, communities, and economy more resilient to global and dynamic threats and hazards.”
The executive order asserts that state and local governments should take precedence over federal leadership in handling disasters. It will also “streamline” federal functions to ensure local communities can collaborate with the federal government more effectively. Additionally, it will establish the National Resilience Strategy, which will outline “priorities, means, and ways to advance the resilience of the nation” while identifying risks to critical infrastructure.
The outlet further reported that the order will shift the federal government’s “all-hazards” approach to disaster response toward a “risk-informed approach” that prioritizes “resilience and action over mere information sharing.”
Trump has been vocal about his dissatisfaction with the federal government’s disaster response under the Biden administration. After taking office, he criticized FEMA, stating, “FEMA has not done their job for the last four years” and that he would like “states take care of their own problems.” In January, Trump signed an executive order establishing a FEMA Review Council, aiming to “drastically” reform the agency.
“Despite obligating nearly $30 billion in disaster aid each of the past three years, FEMA has managed to leave vulnerable Americans without the resources or support they need when they need it most,” that order stated. “There are serious concerns of political bias in FEMA. Indeed, at least one former FEMA responder has stated that FEMA managers directed her to avoid homes of individuals supporting the campaign of Donald J. Trump for President.”
Trump has also criticized state-level disaster preparedness, particularly California’s handling of its wildfires that broke out earlier this year. The president blamed the state’s lack of preparation for severe shortages in firefighting resources, including inadequate water supplies.
