Trump wants states to pay more after disasters like the LA wildfires. Here’s how FEMA works now

US President Donald Trump headed to hurricane-ravaged western North Carolina and wildfires in Los Angeles on Friday, after lashing out at California leaders for water policies he falsely said made the latest fires worse.

Trump is also considering overhauling the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which was established by President Jimmy Carter in 1980.

“FEMA hasn’t done its job for the last four years” and is “messing up everything,” Trump told Fox News in an interview this week.

The agency has come under fire in the past — most notably during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 — but Trump wants to shift the cost of disaster prevention and response so that states bear more of the burden.

President Joe Biden vowed before leaving office that the federal government would pay all the costs of dealing with the wildfires around Los Angeles, which could end up being the most expensive natural disaster in American history. Global accounting firm Verisk expects insured property losses from the Palisades and Eaton fires, the two largest blazes this month, to range from $28 billion to $35 billion.

Also, Biden signed an appropriations bill into law last year that replenished the federal disaster relief fund by $100 billion.

Meanwhile, California passed an aid package Thursday under Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom to spend $2.5 billion to help the Los Angeles area recover.

Trump has also suggested using the state’s disaster aid as a bargaining chip during unrelated legislative talks about federal borrowing, or as a basis for lobbying California to change certain policies. The Speaker of the Republican House, Mike Johnson, strongly emphasized that this decision that aid must be combined with “conditions” related to forest and water management.

Some House Republicans from California disagree with that view.

“Playing politics with people’s livelihoods is unacceptable and a slap in the face to the victims of the Southern California wildfires and to our brave first responders,” said Republican Representative Young Kim, whose divided district is centered on Orange County, southeast of Los. Angeles, the statement said.

What is FEMA missing

Experts stress that FEMA is not in charge of the entire recovery process.

“Everybody thinks that FEMA just comes in after a disaster and starts managing every disaster. And that’s not the case,” said Brock Long, FEMA administrator from 2017 to 2019.

When there is an alert – such as hurricanes – FEMA coordinates with state and local governments about needs and can pre-position resources such as water or tarps in areas that may be most affected. FEMA also has its own search and rescue teams to send out.

And it’s impossible, given how many people in the US in a given year are affected by floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires, to fully address an individual disaster. There are caps on both emergency assistance and FEMA rebuilding assistance for those who do not have adequate home insurance.

“FEMA doesn’t bail anyone out after a disaster,” said Samantha L. Montano, an assistant professor of emergency management at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. “They won’t give you enough money to completely restore your health.”

What FEMA does

FEMA has an operating budget and a disaster relief fund.

This bag is basically a country checkbook for emergencies. The government uses it to reimburse state and local governments for jobs like clearing debris, rebuilding roads or overtime costs for firefighters.

At the individual level, FEMA can send $750 in payments to people for emergency needs like clothing and food. Later in the recovery process, it can provide up to $42,500 to some uninsured homeowners to rebuild.

The federal government doesn’t help in every disaster – it usually has to be beyond the capacity of the community or state to handle. The governor or national authority in that case asks the president to issue an emergency declaration.

FEMA’s challenges

There are concerns about FEMA’s long-term funding.

The disaster relief fund sometimes runs low in late summer – usually when the Atlantic hurricane season begins – before Congress passes a new budget, and it was not unusual for the agency to make a so-called “funding request”.

The Congressional Budget Office’s 2022 report said most of what goes to the disaster relief fund comes from these requests. The report noted that “a small number of such disasters account for a disproportionate share of total spending.”

When the disaster fund runs out, FEMA switches to what’s called “immediate needs funding.” That means the agency stops paying for past disasters and saves its money for life-saving equipment during any disasters. When the disaster relief fund is filled, money flows back into long-term projects.

“Really, there’s a lot of work to be done to adjust and rethink, ‘How can the disaster relief fund … be set up in a way where the FEMA administrator isn’t always asking for more funding?’ ” said Lungile.

What can Trump do

Trump made Cameron Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL and unsuccessful Republican congressional candidate from Virginia, the agency’s interim director. Hamilton previously worked for the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State on emergency management issues, but has limited experience dealing with natural disasters.

Project 2025, Trump’s conservative second-term plan prepared by the president’s allies, also included surprising proposals for FEMA, including moving it to the Department of the Interior or the Department of Transportation, instead of Homeland Security.

Another proposal was to cap the federal reimbursement rate for minor disasters at 25 percent of costs, and 75 percent for major ones. Presidents currently can authorize 100 percent reimbursement of some expenses.

Trump has downplayed climate change, and it’s doubtful that view will change in the next four years, as both Hurricane Helene and the Los Angeles wildfires were exacerbated by global warming, according to experts.

In the case of Helene, research conducted by climate scientists around the world at World Weather Attribution, revealed that climate change increases storm rainfall by ten percent.

In California, the region experienced a record dry fall and winter – its normal rainy season – making the area around Los Angeles vulnerable to wildfires.

Trump in his first term was accused of politicizing disasters. According to Politico’s latest series of investigative pieces, he has withheld aid for wildfires in Washington state, out of personal animosity toward Gov. Jay Inslee. And, at times, he was seen as highly critical of officials when severe weather conditions hit Democratic-led states, including wildfires in California and hurricanes in Puerto Rico.