Council recommends keeping FEMA but shifting more disaster management responsibility to states

WASHINGTON — Today, the FEMA Review Council met and approved  its long-awaited final report with recommendations for reforming federal disaster recovery and FEMA – the Federal Emergency Management Agency.  

President Donald Trump established the Review Council by executive order in 2025. Its final report includes ten overarching recommendations and over 150 recommended actions designed to shift more responsibility and autonomy for disaster management from FEMA to state, localities, and Tribes. Some of the recommendations are policy changes that can be implemented directly by the agency, but others will require Congressional action to make changes to the federal laws that govern the agencyand disaster management more generally.  

SELC Legislative Counsel Sarah Edwards released the following statement: 

“The Council’s presentation today outlined a shifting of more responsibility and autonomy for disaster management from FEMA to states, localities, and Tribes, while acknowledging that FEMA and other federal partners have a crucial role in providing expertise and resources to help communities better prepare for, withstand, and recover from disasters. These are reasonable goals but implementation will be key. We look forward to working with Congress and executive agencies to ensure reforms incentivize states and communities to better prepare for disasters, get recovery resources into victims’ hands more quickly, and ensure no community is left to fend for itself.”