If FEMA is dismantled, Congress will own the consequences

People impacted by the wildfires seek information and relief at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at Pasadena City College Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent) In the U. S., the number of billion-dollar disasters is increasing each year. Wildfires, hurricanes, floods and extreme weather events are hitting communities with increasing frequency and severity — placing more Americans at risk of losing their homes, livelihoods and financial stability. Instead of preparing for this reality, the Trump administration stopped tracking these disasters to advance an alternate-reality narrative cooked up by an out-of-touch, ideological Beltway think-tank. No president on his own can dismantle the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the very system millions of Americans rely on when disaster strikes. Congress has the power to stop it, but right now, too many members are choosing not to. This follows a familiar pattern. Promises of putting Americans first have repeatedly translated into gutting programs that actually serve the public, while costly and high-profile political priorities move forward unchecked. The rhetoric may win headlines, but the consequences fall squarely on American communities. FEMA is not an abstraction. It is one of the most widely relied upon forms of federal support in the country. Around 94 percent of Americans live in a county that has received FEMA assistance since 2011. From 2017 to 2023, $267.7 billion in disaster aid and reconstruction supported communities across rural and urban areas, in red and blue states alike. If FEMA disappears, what happens to your community after the next wildfire, flood, hurricane, or terrorist attack? Last year, Trump said, “I’d say after the hurricane season we’ll start phasing [FEMA] out.” This is an interesting delay for an administration so confident that FEMA is not essential. The same overconfidence already resulted in multiple fire-people-first-and-ask-questions-later moments. There is no serious plan to replace FEMA’s capabilities. Without FEMA, disaster response responsibilities shift to state and local governments that are already stretched thin and to families who cannot afford to wait for help that may never come. Weakening these capacities will make government less efficient. Cash-strapped states and territories will each need to replicate the same systems, resulting in slower, more expensive, and more unequal recoveries. Members of Congress know this. They stand in disaster zones for photo-ops, meet with constituents who lose everything, and vote for recovery funding when politically necessary. They understand that a rapid FEMA response is often the difference between a community rebuilding and a community falling into long-term decline. There is a chance that our $200 billion-plus war in Iran will result in more terrorist attacks on U. S. soil. It is beyond reckless not to allocate $30 billion for FEMA to prepare for and respond to known and potential threats that kill and displace Americans every day. Most people still remember what happens when federal and state disaster responses fail. Twenty years ago, we watched the catastrophic response to Hurricane Katrina unfold in real time. I witnessed the consequences firsthand while managing aid sites in Mississippi. The disaster exposed how deadly an unprepared, understaffed, and poorly coordinated response can become. After Katrina, the federal government conducted extensive investigations documenting systemic failures and issuing hundreds of recommendations. Congress responded by passing the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act. Those reforms reflected a bipartisan consensus that when disasters overwhelm states, the federal government must be prepared to respond quickly and at scale. All members of Congress know their districts will need help at some point, and disasters are precisely the moments when Americans expect the federal government to show up with resources, expertise and financial support. That consensus is now unraveling. Many post-Katrina improvements have already been reversed. Without that federal coordination, disaster response becomes fragmented and slower. Communities wait longer for debris removal, housing assistance and infrastructure repair. Hospitals and critical facilities struggle to reopen. Families face longer displacements and higher rebuilding costs. Like any large federal agency, FEMA requires ongoing independent oversight, modernization and reform. The FEMA Review Council’s final report recommends significant reductions to the agency’s role and capacity. If those recommendations move forward, the impact will be felt in every congressional district. Officials in red, blue, and purple states have already sounded the alarm. Dismantling or weakening FEMA is not reform. It is abandonment. If FEMA is dismantled, it will be because members of Congress chose not to act despite knowing exactly what is at stake. Voters in every district will feel the consequences, and they will remember who allowed it to happen. Ben Smilowitz is founder and executive director of Disaster Accountability Project and SmartResponse.org, a nonprofit started after Hurricane Katrina. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.