Nandita Bose and Steve Holland
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday alienated Democratic officials by shutting down the federal emergency management agency and pledging government aid during a trip to disaster areas in North Carolina and California.
Trump's visit, fresh from assuming office on Monday, signaled a desire to make an early appearance in two states hit by hurricanes and massive wildfires, respectively. But he blocked the visit with criticism of FEMA and vowed to sign executive orders to overhaul or eliminate key federal agencies that respond to natural disasters.
“FEMA turned out to be a disaster,” he said during a tour of a North Carolina neighborhood destroyed by Hurricane Helen in September. “I recommend that FEMA leave.”
Trump accused FEMA of dangling emergency relief efforts there and said he preferred states to be given federal funds to handle disasters.
The president has also criticized California's response to the Los Angeles fires, which caused widespread destruction, but he pledged to work with Gov. Gavin Newsom and spoke to the Los Angeles mayor's office while touring the state. Provided help to Karen Bass.
“We want to complete something, and the way you complete it is by working together to govern the nation. And we're going to complete it. They will require a lot of federal help,” Trump told reporters after Newsom met him on the tarmac as the Air Force landed in Los Angeles.
Three large blazes still threaten the area.
Newsom, a Democrat who has had a strained relationship with Republican leaders, told Trump that California would need his help.
Trump accused Newsom and Bass of “crude incompetence,” and his Republican colleagues in Congress threatened to withhold disaster aid.
In a meeting with California officials, Trump sparred with Bass and another Democrat, urging the mayor to use her emergency powers so people could quickly return to their properties and remove debris themselves. I did so. Bass emphasized the importance of safety, and Congressional Representative Brad Sherman praised FEMA's work.
Trump asked Richard Grenell, a former ambassador to Germany, to represent him in the response to the California fires.
Water fight, FEMA shutdown?
Trump has previously threatened to withhold aid to California and repeated false claims in North Carolina that newspapers and other officials had refused water from the northern part of the state to fight the fires. Ta.
Water shortages caused some fire hydrants to dry up in wealthy Pacific palaces, hampering initial response. One of the reservoirs that could have provided more water to the area when the fire broke out had been empty for a year. Officials have promised an investigation into why it's so dry.
Bass and fire officials emphasized the unprecedented nature of the fire, saying hydrants were not designed to deal with such a large-scale disaster.
Meanwhile, experts doubt that only Trump can shut down FEMA.
Rob Verchik, a former Obama administration official at the Environmental Protection Agency and current professor of law at Loyola University New Orleans, said eliminating FEMA would likely require action from Congress. .
He said FEMA was created by President Jimmy Carter by executive order but was assigned the role and funding of the nation's emergency response program by Congress.
FEMA brings emergency personnel, supplies, and equipment to help begin recovery from natural disasters. Funding for government agencies has soared in recent years as extreme weather events have increased demand for services.
The agency has 10 regional offices and employs more than 20,000 people nationwide.
FEMA was a target of Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump's second term prepared by allies the president distanced himself from during the campaign. The plan called for dissolving the Department of Homeland Security and moving FEMA to the Department of the Interior or the Department of Transportation.
Additionally, it proposed changing the formula the agency uses to determine when federal disaster assistance is warranted, to prevent disasters and shift the costs of the response to states.
Trump complained that his predecessor, Joe Biden, did not do enough to help Western North Carolina recover from Helen.
In an X post on Friday, North Carolina Democratic Representative Deborah Ross said FEMA is a critical partner in the state's hurricane recovery.
“I appreciate President Trump’s concern for Western North Carolina, but eliminating FEMA would be a disaster for our state,” she said.
A trip to North Carolina and California culminates in a week. Trump moved with impressive speed to deliver on campaign promises on illegal immigration, the federal workforce, energy and environmental scale, gender and diversity policy, and pardons for supporters imprisoned for January. It moved. .
