On Friday, as many Americans learned of devastating flooding in Texas and the heartbreaking losses from the disaster, a reporter asked Donald Trump whether he’s still planning to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“Well, FEMA is, uh, something we can talk about later,” the president replied.
As this week got underway, we’re still talking about it. Politico reported:
The White House on Monday opened the door to salvaging the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which President Donald Trump last month suggested should be phased out. The about-face follows devastating flooding that ravaged Texas over the weekend and claimed the lives of at least 80 people, including more than two dozen children.
As the video clip of the exchange helped underscore, it’s difficult to say with certainty exactly what point White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was trying to convey with her comments.
Q: Is Trump still continuing with his plan to get rid of FEMA given the disaster in Texas?Leavitt: That's a policy discussion that will continue. Trump has always said he wants states to do more
— FactPost (@factpostnews.bsky.social) 2025-07-07T18:04:27.208Z
Asked whether the administration was moving forward with its plan to eliminate FEMA, the president’s chief spokesperson said, “The president wants to ensure American citizens always have what they need during times of need. Whether that assistance comes from states or the federal government, that is a policy discussion that will continue.”
Where this “policy discussion” will end up is unclear, though Leavitt’s comments were a departure of sorts from statements her boss has made.
Indeed, as regular readers might recall, within days of his second inaugural, Trump sent an unmistakable signal about the future of the agency: As far as he was concerned, FEMA’s days were numbered.
“FEMA is getting in the way of everything,” the Republican president argued, failing to explain what that meant. Trump soon after said he saw the agency as an unnecessary department that should be “TERMINATED.”
In the weeks and months that followed, Trump and his team not only failed to properly respond to domestic national disasters, but they also fired their own acting FEMA chief after he had the audacity to tell Congress that he believed his agency should exist.
As recently as four weeks ago, Trump said he planned to “wean” states off FEMA assistance after this year’s hurricane season. “We’re moving it back to the states, so the governors can handle,” he told reporters, adding, “A governor should be able to handle it, and frankly, if they can’t handle it, the aftermath, then maybe they shouldn’t be governor.” He was, of course, seemingly indifferent to the fact that state governments lack the resources and wherewithal that only the federal government can provide in the wake of a disaster. A month later, however, there’s apparently some ambiguity to the White House’s position. On the one hand, there’s the president, who has not only repeatedly condemned FEMA, but has also declared his intentions to “terminate” the agency. On the other hand, there’s Trump’s press secretary, who said, after deadly flooding in Texas, that there’s an ongoing “policy discussion” about FEMA’s future. Maybe the administration is hedging on Trump’s regressive plans, or maybe the White House believes this is a bad time to say something like, “We’ve seen devastation and the need for FEMA, but we’re determined to tear it down anyway,” so vague comments about a “policy discussion” seemed more politic than telling the truth. Which is it? Watch this space. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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