State and local leaders, not distant federal bureaucracies, are in the best position to deliver real solutions when disaster strikes.
State and local leaders, not distant federal bureaucracies, are in the best position to deliver real solutions when disaster strikes.
P resident Trump, a strident critic of Biden-era disaster relief, has once again blasted FEMA as a “disaster” on Truth Social. FEMA’s failure after Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina has continued to roil Trump, as has news that funds from the agency have been used to house migrants in New York City hotels. Trump advocated FEMA’s termination, calling it “totally ineffective.”
The agency itself receives plenty of ire from Trump on social media. But he is also channeling his frustration with FEMA into action. During press briefings and with statements on social media, he has proposed block grants to give states much more authority to handle crises on the ground. Last month, the president signed an executive order empowering a 20-person council to conduct a full review of the agency, which includes lines suggesting its authority might, at the very least, be diminished.
Federalism — the system that divides power between the federal government and the states — works best when local governments have the flexibility to address their own challenges. While sending tax dollars to Washington, D.C., only for them to be redistributed back to the states with fewer federal restrictions may not be the purest form of federalism, it’s a step in the right direction toward empowering local governments and increasing accountability on the ground.
For many Americans, robust federalism is highly visible in the actions of governors during a natural disaster. State executives have a bevy of resources to mobilize support for local emergency first responders and the National Guard, and issue evacuation orders.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is well known for his effectiveness at handling hurricanes. A quick mobilization of emergency resources, strong coordination with local authorities, and a leadership style that prioritizes action and solutions over the kind of bureaucratic malaise that is so prevalent at FEMA and other federal agencies have marked his gubernatorial tenure. DeSantis backed up Trump’s suggestion, saying that he’d prefer block grants and could take just 80 percent of the funds funneled through FEMA for his state and manage the money far more effectively with better outcomes.
FEMA plays little to no role as a first responder. Since Hurricane Katrina, the agency has earned a reputation as a bureaucratic maze that disperses federal funds at a painfully slow and inefficient pace. Instances of FEMA’s stockpiling supplies and temporary housing only to leave them locked away in warehouses or behind fencing with no clear distribution plan have become increasingly common. This is what happened recently in hurricane-ravaged Western North Carolina.
As Vice President JD Vance recently pointed out to Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation, this pattern embodies FEMA’s ongoing systemic failures.
The first responders are already at the local and state level. They include an army of civil society and parachurch relief groups like Mennonite Disaster Relief or Catholic Relief Services. Southern Baptist Disaster Relief was called a well-oiled machine by the Red Cross after tornadoes ravaged parts of central Alabama in 2011. Its ministry cut through the wreckage after Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast and set up hot feeding stations the day after the disaster.
The federal government may have a better reputation for fire management. But California and other states must take greater responsibility for their own land. Edward Ring, director of Water and Energy Policy at the California Policy Center, acknowledges that implementing the necessary reforms is complex but emphasizes clear priorities: “Deregulate the process so public and private land managers can conduct controlled burns, thin vegetation, use grazing animals like goats and cattle, and harvest marketable timber.”
Creating better defensible space through fuel breaks is another land management tool that would enable city and county firefighters to better protect structures and human life. All this can be done at the state and local level, by those closest to and most knowledgeable of a given situation.
Since the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, federal involvement in natural disaster response has steadily expanded. But bureaucratic growth has reached the point where effectiveness is now outpaced by stagnation and mismanagement of the response.
Trump’s instinct to give states and localities more authority over the relief through block grants is an important first step towards accountability and a more efficient, responsive disaster-relief system that empowers those closest to the crisis to act swiftly and effectively. The ongoing mismanagement and politicization of federal agencies like FEMA reinforce that a plan to devolve more power to those on the ground is long overdue.
From the devastating wildfires that ravaged California to Hurricane Helene that tore through Western North Carolina, recent disasters highlight the truth that nothing is more important than the response from those closest to the calamity. State and local leaders, not distant federal bureaucracies, are in the best position to deliver real solutions when disaster strikes.