President Donald Trump is doubling down on his desire to shutter FEMA following the 2025 hurricane season. During an Oval Office news conference this week, Trump said he plans to "phase out" FEMA and put more disaster response responsibilities on state governments.
However, at least two Louisiana officials appear to be unfazed by Trump's plan.
"The states have always maintained the first responsibility anyhow," Governor Jeff Landry said during a June 3 news conference.
Landry says FEMA reimburses the state for services provided following a hurricane or other disaster. However, he notes that FEMA's operations pose some challenges to the state's response efforts.
"What we have seen from the time of Katrina through now is that the bureaucracy inside the federal government has a tendency to tangle things up," Landry said.
Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng serves on a task force that's studying possible reforms to FEMA. She says change may not necessarily be a bad thing.
"I'm glad that there's debate--healthy debate--going on about what FEMA should look like, where our resources should go, the role for the state, (and) the role for local governments," Sheng said during a May 29 briefing. "Conversations are good to have."
According to Sheng, her task force's goal is similar to President Trump's: speeding up federal response by getting rid of red tape.
"Knocking it down and getting more response to the states, in theory, is a good thing to be talking about," Sheng said.
However, Sheng cautions that if FEMA is 86'ed, state and local governments will need to prepare themselves to take on what would have been federal responsibilities.
"If the responsibility is going to come to the state, I think the state and those of us in the state want to make sure that the resources are there (and) the skill and the experience are there to make sure the response is adequate," Sheng said.
Meanwhile, Governor Landry says Louisiana is prepared to respond to any hurricanes that may strike this year or in the future.
"I am extremely confident that if we are impacted by a major hurricane that the communications that we have at the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA, the White House, and our congressional delegation will ensure that Louisianans will receive the resources they need," Landry said.
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