Trump proposes ‘getting rid’ of emergency agency on visit to US disaster zones

President Donald Trump said he was considering “getting rid of” a key emergency agency during a trip to US disaster zones on Friday.

It is the latest sign of how Mr Trump is weighing up sweeping changes to the nation’s central organisation for responding to disasters.

Instead of having federal financial assistance flow through FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), the Republican president said Washington could provide money directly to the states.

He made the comments while visiting North Carolina, which is still recovering months after Hurricane Helene, on the first trip of his second term.

“Fema has been a very big disappointment,” the Republican president said. “It’s very bureaucratic. And it’s very slow.”

Mr Trump said Michael Whatley, a North Carolina native and chairman of the Republican National Committee, would help coordinate recovery efforts in the state, where frustrations over the response have lingered.

Although Mr Whatley does not hold an official government position, Mr Trump said he would be “very much in charge”.

While the president emphasised his desire to help North Carolina, a battleground state that has voted for him in all of his presidential campaigns, he was much less generous toward California, where he plans to visit wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles later in the day.

Mr Trump reiterated that he wants to extract concessions from the Democratic-led state in return for disaster assistance, including changes to water policies and requirements that voters need to show identification when casting ballots.

Beyond Mr Trump’s criticism of Fema, he has suggested limiting the federal government’s role in responding to disasters, echoing comments from conservative allies who have proposed reducing funding and responsibility.

“I’d like to see the states take care of disasters,” he said after landing in the Asheville area.

“Let the state take care of the tornadoes and the hurricanes and all of the other things that happen.”

Mr Trump, who was accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, said that would be quicker and cheaper than sending in Fema.

“Fema just hasn’t done the job,” the president said. “We’re looking at the whole concept of Fema.

The agency helps respond to disasters when local leaders request a presidential emergency declaration, a signal that the damage is beyond the state’s ability to handle on its own.

Fema can reimburse governments for recovery efforts such as debris removal, and it gives stopgap financial assistance to individual residents.

Trump has criticised former president Joe Biden for his administration’s response to Helene in North Carolina.

As he left the White House on Friday morning, he told reporters that “it’s been a horrible thing the way that’s been allowed to fester” since the storm hit in September, and “we’re going to get it fixed up”.

After a briefing on recovery efforts, Mr Trump travelled to a small town outside Asheville to meet with residents who have been helped by Samaritan’s Purse, a humanitarian organisation headed by evangelical leader Franklin Graham.

The residents told him about wading through waist-deep water to escape from their homes while fearing for their lives. Some have battled with insurance companies to get their losses covered.

“We’ve come to North Carolina with a simple message,” Mr Trump said. “You are not forgotten any longer. You were treated very badly by the previous administration.”

“This is our president,” one woman told him. “We appreciate you so much.”

Fema has distributed 319 million dollars in financial assistance to residents, but that has not alleviated the feeling of abandonment among residents who are struggling to rebuild their lives.

Laurie Carpenter, a 62-year-old retiree in Newland, North Carolina, said there is still debris and trash strewn around her part of the state. She was looking forward to Mr Trump’s visit because she’s been disappointed by the federal response.

Sarah Wells Rolland, 65, whose Asheville pottery studio was destroyed by flooding, is less enthusiastic. Her town leans Democratic, and she’s worried that Mr Trump will not prioritise its rebuilding.

“I’m not overly optimistic that the Trump administration is going to do anything long-term,” she said.

Once in California, Trump plans to tour the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, where rows of homes burned to the ground. He is expected to receive a briefing on the fires, which are ongoing, with thousands of people under evacuation orders.

Friday’s trip could prompt some uncomfortable conversations about climate change, which Mr Trump has played down and denied.

Both Helene and the Los Angeles wildfires were exacerbated by global warming.

In Helene’s case, a study by international climate scientists at World Weather Attribution found that climate change boosted the storm’s rainfall by 10%.

In California, the state suffered a record dry fall and winter — its traditional wet season — which made the area around Los Angeles more vulnerable to blazes.