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TACO buckles again says he won't phase out FEMA until after hurricane season. [View all]
Last edited Wed Jun 11, 2025, 07:12 AM - Edit history (1)
Let's cut to the chase, communities across the Gulf of Mexico and the entirety of the eastern seaboard are at risk of devastation and death this hurricane season. States and local governments are preparing for a potentially busy and hazardous windstorm season. It is not the only threat to the country; fires, deadly heat, flooding, and recently, tornadoes are predicted to result in record-breaking damage across the continental US, the Hawaiian Islands, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Trump has already made cuts to the NWS and NOAA, where workers have claimed the agencies' mission to research and provide data for local experts to analyze and alert the public. Has ground to a halt due to forced departures and funding cuts. The chaos of climate change-enhanced natural disasters is not limited to the eastern half of the country.
As the LA | LA Times reports, California is also at risk of losing critical life-saving data from NOAA.
WASHINGTON — When a fire erupts in California, it is a lab across the country, at the University of Maryland, that works together with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to determine where the smoke is going. Those unsung scientists help warn the people downwind of dangerous air quality levels.
About a half-hour drive away, NOAA’s Satellite Operations Facility provides the bulk of the work used to forecast atmospheric rivers that are crucial — and sometimes threatening — to communities across the state.
And it is the National Weather Service, working with buoys at sea and satellites in orbit, figuring out the risks of increased winds and dryness that could prompt devastating fires in highly populated areas such as Los Angeles.
snip
The Trump administration proposes to go further, seeking to eliminate the entire research team that provides forecasters with tools to make their assessments. The Satellite Operations Facility has been hit with deep layoffs. Contracts for the buoys, and other equipment, are on hold while under review by the Commerce Department.
About a half-hour drive away, NOAA’s Satellite Operations Facility provides the bulk of the work used to forecast atmospheric rivers that are crucial — and sometimes threatening — to communities across the state.
And it is the National Weather Service, working with buoys at sea and satellites in orbit, figuring out the risks of increased winds and dryness that could prompt devastating fires in highly populated areas such as Los Angeles.
snip
The Trump administration proposes to go further, seeking to eliminate the entire research team that provides forecasters with tools to make their assessments. The Satellite Operations Facility has been hit with deep layoffs. Contracts for the buoys, and other equipment, are on hold while under review by the Commerce Department.
What comes after for citizens is a long-term recovery resulting in PTSD, no power, no fresh food, and in some cases, no potable water. FEMA was created to coordinate the response in these ravaged regions. An interesting fact about the agency's creation goes back quite a way.
Congressional Act of 1803
The first legislative act of federal disaster relief in U.S. history followed a devastating fire in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in December 1802. The destruction of large areas of the city’s seaport threatened commerce in the newly founded nation. In 1803, U.S. Congress provided relief to affected Portsmouth merchants by suspending bond payments for several months.
Creation of FEMA
President Carter signed Executive Order 12127, effective April 1, 1979, establishing FEMA. Shortly after, in signing Executive Order 12148 on July 20, 1979, President Carter gave the agency the dual mission of emergency management and civil defense.
The first legislative act of federal disaster relief in U.S. history followed a devastating fire in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in December 1802. The destruction of large areas of the city’s seaport threatened commerce in the newly founded nation. In 1803, U.S. Congress provided relief to affected Portsmouth merchants by suspending bond payments for several months.
Creation of FEMA
President Carter signed Executive Order 12127, effective April 1, 1979, establishing FEMA. Shortly after, in signing Executive Order 12148 on July 20, 1979, President Carter gave the agency the dual mission of emergency management and civil defense.
But Trump hates FEMA, and he's already damaged the agency's ability to respond to a catastrophe. From The New York Times reports on the looming tropical storm season.
Atlantic Hurricane season officially began this week and it comes at an uneasy time for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Last month, the head of FEMA was dismissed, and several senior officials have left. This has come after threats from the Trump administration to dismantle the agency and cuts across multiple federal agencies that are key to storm prediction and response. FEMA has lost about a quarter of its full-time staff in recent months.
As several of my colleagues reported, all of that has left cities and states uncertain about how much federal support they’ll have when a disaster or storm strikes.
Last month, the head of FEMA was dismissed, and several senior officials have left. This has come after threats from the Trump administration to dismantle the agency and cuts across multiple federal agencies that are key to storm prediction and response. FEMA has lost about a quarter of its full-time staff in recent months.
As several of my colleagues reported, all of that has left cities and states uncertain about how much federal support they’ll have when a disaster or storm strikes.
Yesterday, after being harangued by Red State Senators and Governors over tornadoes that severely damaged their communities, Trump refused their pleas for help. But someone convinced Trump to appear like he cared for the next few months only. Unless disaster strikes a blue state. they don't matter to him or Republican leaders.
CNN:
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he plans to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency after this year’s hurricane season, offering the clearest timeline yet for his administration’s long-term plans to dismantle the disaster relief agency and shift responsibility for response and recovery onto states.
We want to wean off of FEMA, and we want to bring it down to the state level,” Trump told reporters during a briefing in the Oval Office, later saying, “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.”
Trump added that the federal government will start distributing less federal aid for disaster recovery and that the funding will come directly from the president’s office. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration projects this year’s hurricane season, which officially ends on November 30, to be particularly intense and potentially deadly.
We want to wean off of FEMA, and we want to bring it down to the state level,” Trump told reporters during a briefing in the Oval Office, later saying, “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.”
Trump added that the federal government will start distributing less federal aid for disaster recovery and that the funding will come directly from the president’s office. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration projects this year’s hurricane season, which officially ends on November 30, to be particularly intense and potentially deadly.
He's a monster.
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