Homeland Security council targets FEMA abolition under Stafford Act review

Trump established review council to potentially eliminate FEMA on Jan. 26, 2025, while ordering states to take primary responsibility for disaster preparedness

FEMA coordinates national disaster response capability developed after Hurricane Katrina revealed state-level inadequacies

States cannot replicate federal logistics, communications, and resource coordination systems for multi-state disasters

Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program funds flood mitigation, wildfire prevention, and hurricane preparedness projects

Private insurers withdraw from hurricane, earthquake, and wildfire coverage when federal reinsurance programs end

Climate change increases disaster frequency and intensity precisely when federal coordination capacity faces elimination

Wealthy states can afford emergency systems while poor states lack resources for catastrophic disaster response