The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the federal office that helps communities recover after hurricanes, floods and wildfires, told state officials on Tuesday, Oct. 20, that their states will need to handle most disasters on their own 24. FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton spoke at the annual meeting of the National Emergency Management Association, a group of state disaster chiefs, in Little Rock, Arkansas 24.
Hamilton said changes to federal disaster assistance could begin "in the next six months" 24. Politico obtained a recording of his remarks and first reported them 4. The administration has not formally announced the changes, and it is still approving some weather-related disaster aid 4.
Every state must have the appropriate financial reserves
Hamilton said states need money set aside "to ensure that recovery efforts can start immediately" instead of waiting for Washington to declare a disaster 2. He said states that skip federal aid applications could start cleanup and repairs "much faster," because FEMA decisions can take weeks or months 4. He also said FEMA will push to waive federal environmental and historic preservation reviews, which he called added bureaucracy 4.
A memo, then a speech
The speech came five days after a seven-page internal FEMA memo dated Oct. 15 3. The memo said FEMA would "strengthen state and local emergency management capacity" while shrinking the agency's footprint in Washington 3. It also said "reducing federal dependency requires partners to build, maintain, and exercise the capabilities" needed to manage disasters 2.
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In place of Washington taking the lead, the administration is planning what it calls "national mutual aid," a system in which states help each other recover 4. Daily Kos, citing Politico's reporting, described it as states pooling funds 8. That system has not been formally set up or funded 3.
A FEMA spokesperson told Politico the agency's "primary focus is on empowering communities to lead and execute disaster response and recovery," and described FEMA as "not a first responder" but a "force multiplier" 4.
A future that I hope we would shoot for is one where we wouldn't require as many disasters because the capability of states is so high.
Texas is already living it
Flooding that began July 12, 2026, hit Texas, including homes in Uvalde and properties across Kerr County 13. For some Kerr County homes it was the second flood in two years. Flooding there in July 2025 killed more than 100 people 1.
This time, FEMA turned down Texas's request for individual assistance, the program that sends federal aid directly to residents 1. FEMA said it was focused on "empowering states to take the lead on their community response and recovery activities" 3. Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, and the Texas Division of Emergency Management are reviewing "the decision and the appeals process," according to the governor's office 1.
Texas's own numbers show how much states lean on Washington. Nim Kidd, chief of the state's emergency management division, told legislators that Texas pays $37 million of its $1.9 billion emergency response budget for 2027, about 2 percent. Federal money covers the rest 1.
we could find ourselves in a very different situation this time next year.
Charities have tried to fill the gap. The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country reported about $1.3 million in emergency financial help for 947 households 1. "Families are continuing to recover without FEMA individual assistance," said the foundation's chief executive, Austin Dickson 1.
Democrats push back
Sen. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, said on Oct. 21 that his state's floods of 2023 and 2024 would have been far harder to recover from without FEMA's quick response 5. He said FEMA should be reformed on a bipartisan basis, with state and local governments at the table, but warned that "many communities simply do not have the capacity or budget to rebuild and repair" 5.
The federal government must help states weather the storm.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, also condemned the shift as his state prepares for El Niño storms, a weather pattern that often brings heavier rain to California 7. His office said 6.2 million sandbags are in place across the state 7. "When disaster strikes, Americans help one another regardless of politics," Newsom wrote 3.
Margie Alt, director of the advocacy group Climate Action Campaign, said the plan would "shift the costs of climate disasters and extreme weather onto families" 6. She also said that "In 2025, Cameron Hamilton was fired for saying America needs FEMA" and that "In 2026, he got his job back" 6.
The Trump administration is about to make disaster recovery far more expensive for states.
What the pattern shows
That matters because most state disaster offices are small. FEMA's own recent report found state disaster agencies are "typically understaffed and underfunded" 4. Staffing ranges from 22 full-time employees in Wyoming to 1,878 in California, according to the emergency managers' association 3. Eric Holdeman, a former emergency management director in King County, Washington, wrote: "There are many states with minuscule emergency management offices and budgets" 2.
The speech also follows a May 7 report from a White House-appointed FEMA review panel. It called for disaster management that is "locally executed, state or tribally managed, and federally supported" and recommended higher damage thresholds before Washington steps in 3. NPR reported that by the panel's own math, 29 percent of major disaster declarations from 2012 to 2025 would not have qualified 3.
Critics also point to how aid has been handed out so far. A July Associated Press analysis, as summarized by Common Dreams, found Trump approved about three-quarters of disaster aid requests from states he won in 2024, compared with less than half from states he lost 2. Democrats argue that when states are told to pay for their own disasters, those with smaller budgets will be able to offer less help after the next storm 5.
The Record
- A FEMA review panel calls for disasters to be 'locally executed, state or tribally managed, and federally supported' and for higher damage thresholds 3.
- Flooding begins in Texas, hitting Uvalde and Kerr County. FEMA later denies individual assistance to residents 13.
- An internal FEMA memo says the agency will 'strengthen state and local emergency management capacity' 3.
- Hamilton tells state emergency managers in Little Rock that states must have financial reserves, with changes possible within six months 24.
- Sen. Peter Welch, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Climate Action Campaign condemn the shift 567.
Sources
- The Texas Tribune, “FEMA won't help Texans after July 2026 floods. Here's why.” (2026-10-21). texastribune.org/2026/10/21/fema-aid-july-floods-texas-disas
- Common Dreams, “'Batshit Insane': As Extreme Weather Worsens, Trump's FEMA Head Tells States to Prepare to Handle Disasters on Their Own” (2026-10-21). commondreams.org/news/trump-fema-states
- Latin Times, “Texas Flood Victims Are Already Paying the Price for Washington's Disaster Retreat” (2026-10-22). latintimes.com/texas-flood-victims-are-already-paying-price-
- The MortgagePoint, “Handle Your Own Disasters, FEMA Tells States” (2026-10-22). themortgagepoint.com/2026/10/22/handle-your-own-disasters-fe
- Office of Sen. Peter Welch, “Welch Statement on Trump Administration Abandoning Disaster-Impacted States” (2026-10-21). welch.senate.gov/welch-statement-on-trump-administration-aba
- Climate Action Campaign, “CAC's Margie Alt on Trump Administration's Plan to Withhold FEMA Disaster Assistance to States” (2026-10-21). actonclimate.com/post/cacs-margie-alt-on-trump-administratio
- Office of Gov. Gavin Newsom, “Governor Newsom slams Trump's disaster retreat as California prepares for dangerous El Niño storms” (2026-10-21). gov.ca.gov/2026/10/21/governor-newsom-slams-trumps-disaster-
- Daily Kos, “FEMA abandons states as disasters loom” (2026-10-21). dailykos.com/stories/2026/10/21/800115703/environment/fema-a
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