“FEMA has turned out to be a disaster,” Trump said in North Carolina on Friday while on a multistate tour to areas still recovering from the effects of last year’s Hurricane Helene and the ongoing wildfires near Los Angeles. “I think we recommend that FEMA go away.”

President Donald Trump will visit California to see the damage caused by wildfires around Los Angeles. FEMA has been involved in response efforts there.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has billions of dollars in disaster funds, which are used to reimburse states for eligible recovery efforts after major disasters, contrary to posts online saying FEMA has “no money” to respond to the wildfires in southern California.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday floated shuttering the Federal Emergency Management Agency during a trip to disaster areas in North Carolina and California, where he pledged government support and sparred with Democratic officials.

The president said the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been too bureaucratic and slow in its response to disasters.

President Donald Trump on Friday halted Democratic California Rep. Brad Sherman’s defense of using the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the

“JUST IN: Biden just announced California fire victims are being given $770,” tweeted Nick Sortor, a self-described “independent journalist.” “Barely a FEW NIGHTS in a hotel out here in LA. Why are Americans given pennies while foreigners are given blank checks?!”

Trump says he’ll have Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley working on hurricane relief matters instead of using the Federal Emergency Management Agency

Deanne Criswell joins The Lead

Republican and Democratic voters across the US are reeling from climate-fueled disasters, with thousands of homes and businesses destroyed and damaged by the ongoing fires in Los Angeles, as well as major hurricanes in Florida, Texas, North Carolina, and Georgia last year.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency crews continued working Thursday to identify and remove hazardous waste from properties ravaged in this month’s wildfires, as many residents returned to sift through the rubble of what used to be their homes.

According to the California Energy Commission, more than 99,000 zero-emission vehicles were sold in Los Angeles County in 2024 alone, including battery electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell electric vehicles.