A Trump council recommends overhauling FEMA. Here are 3 key changes

Climate A Trump council recommends overhauling FEMA. Here are 3 key changes May 7, 20263:32 PM ET By  Lauren Sommer ,  Rebecca Hersher A Texas flag hangs from a flood-damaged tree on the bank of the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas after deadly floods in July 2025. A group of emergency experts appointed by President Trump is recommending that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provide less money to states to help prepare for and respond to disasters including floods. Darren Abate/AP hide caption toggle caption Darren Abate/AP A 12-person council of disaster experts appointed by President Trump is recommending sweeping changes to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). If enacted, the changes would represent the most significant reimagining of disaster preparedness and response policy in the United States in a generation. The council's report, approved at a public meeting today, is meant to advise President Trump's decisions about the agency, though some changes will likely need Congressional approval. The changes include making it simpler for disaster survivors to get money, raising the threshold for the federal government to get involved in disaster recovery and shrinking the National Flood Insurance Program. Altogether, the recommendations would put more responsibility on states. Sponsor Message "Many in America do not believe FEMA was doing the job that it was intended to complete," said former Mississippi Governor and FEMA Review Council member Phil Bryant at today's meeting to approve the report. Many of the council's recommendations are very broad, and it's unclear exactly how they would be implemented. "The devil is in the details here," says Dominik Lett, who studies FEMA at the Cato Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C. that promotes market-based policies. "I think that there's a lot of promising ideas that are being pitched by the review council, a lot of which could reduce disaster costs for the federal government."...