ON THE ROAD AGAIN — Donald Trump is in North Carolina today surveying the damage wrought by last year’s Hurricane Helene. And he’s using the first trip of his second term to float a massive overhaul — or outright elimination — of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA. After landing in Asheville, Trump reiterated his frequent critique of the federal hurricane response: FEMA “has really let us down, let the country down,” he said, per NPR’s Asma Khalid and Deepa Shivaram. Trump indicated he’s examining “the whole concept” of...

‘I think, frankly, FEMA is not good,’ Trump said. ‘You want to use your state to fix [a disaster], and not waste time calling FEMA.’ President Donald Trump speaks while visiting a neighborhood affected by Hurricane Helene in Swannanoa, North Carolina, on January 24, 2025. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) President Donald Trump speaks while visiting a neighborhood affected by Hurricane Helene in Swannanoa, North Carolina, on January 24, 2025. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images President Donald Trump said he would...

SWANNANOA, North Carolina - President Donald Trump said on Friday he would like to get rid of the main federal agency that responds to natural disasters during a visit to areas of North Carolina that were devastated by Hurricane Helene in September. Trump, on his first trip since reclaiming the presidency on Monday, accused FEMA of bungling emergency relief efforts in North Carolina. He vowed to sign an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally overhauling or eliminating the agency. "FEMA has turned out to be a disaster," he...

The president has been critical of Gov Gavin Newsom's environmental policies. President Donald Trump will tour damage on Friday caused by wildfires in Los Angeles on Friday as he continues to feud with California Gov. Gavin Newsom over his handling of the disaster and federal aid. Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity on Wednesday that he was going to Los Angeles after stopping in North Carolina, which was hit by Hurricane Helene in September. "I'm stopping in North Carolina, first up, because those people were treated very badly by Democrats...

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump threatened to withhold wildfire relief from California if it doesn't reroute water to the southern part of the state. He also hinted at a possible overhaul of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Referring to an executive order he signed earlier in the week ordering California to redirect water from the northern part of the state, Trump said Wednesday evening in an interview with Sean Hannity that he thought the federal government should withhold federal funds. "I don't think we should give California anything until they...

‘I don’t think we should give California anything until they let water flow down,’ he said. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on Jan. 21, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on Jan. 21, 2025. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he is considering withholding federal aid to California following a series of devastating wildfires if the state doesn’t...

President Donald Trump signaled he is considering sweeping changes to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the country’s lead federal agency responsible for disaster relief, during his second term in the White House. During his first one-on-one interview since assuming office, Trump told Fox News’s Sean Hannity that he wanted states to have the power to manage their own disaster relief efforts rather than be overseen by the federal government, accusing FEMA of “complicating everything.” “FEMA is going to be a whole big discussion very shortly because I’d rather see the...

Trump Has Shocking Idea for FEMA After Using It as Political Pawn Donald Trump mulled the future of FEMA during his interview with Sean Hannity. Donald Trump said that he’s considering scrapping the Federal Emergency Management Agency because he’d “rather see states take care of their own problems.” During an interview Wednesday night with Fox News’s Sean Hannity, Trump claimed that his thinking about FEMA had recently shifted, not the least bit because it sometimes helps people in liberal states and cities. “Los Angeles has changed everything. Because a lot...

President Trump doubled down on his threats to withhold aid from California, where wildfires are raging, without a change in the management of water from leaders in the Golden State. Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity in an interview on Wednesday that California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) could release water, after he has repeatedly gone after the governor over water shortages. He repeated his claims that California could better combat its fires in Los Angeles if it directed water from the northern part of the state to the southern part...

President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that states should “take care of their own problems” rather than rely on the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help them recover after natural disasters. Trump spoke to Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday in a wide-ranging interview following his inauguration and slate of executive actions to reshape the federal government.