For months, a 13-member council appointed by President Trump has been debating the future of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which Trump has at times talked about eliminating entirely. The council, comprised entirely of Republicans who favor a significant overhaul of FEMA, produced a report with recommendations on what to do with it: drastically downsize the agency by cutting its workforce in half, and entirely restructure the way aid is both granted and delivered.
Doing so would severely hamper FEMA’s ability to respond to disasters, which would in turn hurt Black communities.
FEMA Has Long Failed Black Communities
For at least the last 20 years, FEMA has been a four-letter word in Black America. While the federal response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 — in which FEMA was behind at practically every step toward getting aid to and rescuing people from New Orleans — is the most egregious incident that’s given the agency a bad rap, there’s more to it, too.
Research shows that, in short, FEMA does far more for white communities than it does for Black neighborhoods. After a natural disaster like a hurricane, white people, both individually and on a community scale, receive more aid from FEMA than Black people and communities do, and in the years after a storm, white communities see an increase in wealth while Black communities see a decline.
Why We Still Need FEMA
But because so many Black people live in parts of the country that are prone to hurricanes, flooding, and other major storms, FEMA is also a hugely important safety net for Black America.
“Black communities are experiencing more severe and frequent disasters due to intentional decisions to increase fossil fuel use in frontline communities,” Abre’ Connor, the director of environmental and climate justice from the NAACP, said in a statement earlier this year as FEMA was taking official steps toward updating how the agency is run.
“Our branches and state conference leaders have highlighted what we need now: better coordination from FEMA and more resources to ensure communities have a chance at rebuilding and a more resilient future. Now is the time to increase transparency, communication, and mitigation efforts for disaster resiliency efforts.”
What the Leaked Report Recommends
The council had been set to vote on the recommendations in the report, but before that meeting could take place, the report was made public after it was leaked to CNN. The vote was then tabled. But CNN’s reporting details the recommendations made by the council, which included both Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
While it’s unclear as of yet what kind of action the Trump Administration will take around FEMA, the new report certainly suggests that the agency will not be expanding resources for anyone.
Climate Disasters Are Growing — FEMA Isn’t
The writing has seemed to be on the wall for FEMA for quite some time, and the President has been woefully slow at making the disaster declarations that are required for aid and other FEMA support to be triggered.
Some, including philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, have been donating money to emergency response alternatives focused on equity. But her $60 million donated to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy is just a drop in the bucket compared to FEMA’s $50 billion annual spending.
