ASHEVILLE, North Carolina, Jan 24 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he would sign an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally overhauling or eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “FEMA has turned out to be a disaster … I think we recommend that FEMA go away,” he said during a tour of North Carolina to see damage done by Hurricane Helene last year.
Goodbye New Orleans, Miami, Jacksonville, Virginia Beach, all those Florida cities that are underwater from hurricane surge every year now, etc
Asheville North Carolina received 63 million in FEMA aid just a few months ago to help recover from hurricane season. He lied trying to say they didn’t have the money and now he’s making that the case.
The amount of americans this will kill would demand retaliation if putin had used kinetic warfare instead.
They say they have a plan to give money directly to the states instead. So far nobody has seen or heard this plan.
Even if such a plan exists, that still sounds like they’re taking a stockpile of vehicles and personnel and getting rid of it all only to be unprepared for all future disasters.
The plan is to give money to states that kiss trump’s ass, and none for the blue states or cities that don’t.
So trump thinks that a president is king and that royal decrees (executive orders) can just do whatever the hell he wants, bypassing senate and all, ignoring existing law
It’s not how that works, it’s not how anything works, but for some weird reason the Senate just goes with it and for existing law, well, so far judges are striking down all his shit but something tells me that the supre court will just say with the first trial that cheeto is always right and that will be it.
It’s very demonstrably how that works in the context of recent US history. It shouldn’t, but it does.
In other words: It is exactly how it works.
Every accusation is a project. They will turn FEMA into what they’ve been accusing FEMA of.
This is gonna go over well next time there’s half an inch of snow in Texas and the entire power grid goes down. 😂
Oh no it’ll be fun.
He’ll get rid of FEMA, and just throw money at the states he likes. Of course the real trick is, his buddies in the States he likes will just pocket the money.
Nobody gets helped, horrible press all over the place. Lots of disenfranchised red voters.
Won’t turn them blue, But they might be less likely to vote.
They’ll just pull themselves up by their… wait
Fun fact, it just snowed in Houston. Surprisingly went okay. Not to defend the Texas power grid. I still had random power outages all year. But it did survive some snow. So that was nice.
I’m willing to bet that the “problem” with FEMA is that, due to its vital role in dealing with emergencies, it has particularly stringent safeguards in place to prevent it becoming a partisan tool. And since Trump’s stated goal is to turn the entirety of the federal government into a partisan tool, it has to go.
Maybe there are some buddies of the trump crime family that would be happy to privatize aid to disaster victims for a nice fee, and trump would like to withhold or bestow aid on States and individual officials that kiss his ass. So you bet the Left Coast won’t be getting any, but Mar a Lago will get a new roof every year.
Nah, it’s just really hard to steal from it without people noticing.
How hard can it be? They have to buy supplies and resources somewhere. And in an emergency no one is looking where you get stuff, from who, or how much. I’m surprised it isn’t ripe for abuse…
Ironically, the Republicans installed a lot of oversight against single source contracting. You can do it but it’s very obvious. So privatizing the entire thing makes it easier to grift.
Used to be that easy. Then Bush 2 and his fleet of RVs happened.
I would bet it was as stupid as someone (or even naturally by group via social media) inventing a narrative during the Biden administration because everything he does is evil. Then the destruction of the agency being the natural conclusion of said narrative. It wins points for Trump since people living in that reality see this as a win over evil.
Then later, when it all blows up, likely during the next hurricane, they can just figure someone else to blame. Everything is probably purely off the cuff.
It’s what con men do. Just roll with everything and keep it up for as long as they can. It’s worked for Trump his entire life.
“But my egg prices” - morons about to have a very bad 2025 Atlantic hurricane season.
We all warned you this would happen. This move was plainly outlined in Project 2025. Nobody tricked you, you’re just fucking morons.
B b but Trump claimed he never heard of project 2025. He wouldn’t just lie to the American people right?
Accusing gentle Mr. Trump of a misdeed?
Absolutely not, I love Trump mister TSS officer
I’m sorry but it’s either just Trump or Mrs. Trump now. Respect the law.
Mrs. Trump
At least now we know who’s the bottom.
He’s going to form the department of paper towel throwing
I know this is stretching it, but given how stupid of a timeline we’re in, I have to allow for the possibility that FEMA is being disbanded because CA Gov. Newsom is taller than Trump.
All those hurricane victims that complained about “illegals” getting some FEMA (but it wasn’t FEMA money, not that they cared) money got their wish. They won’t get any more FEMA money. Maybe nobody else will, either.
Florida’s about to be unaffordable for millions of Americans. FEMA’s NFIP program had been disproportionately keeping cost of flood insurance low for millions of people in hurricane/flood regions along the Gulf coast, but now the market alone will dictate rates if FEMA is taken out of the picture.
Don’t worry. They’ll make sure handouts to red states won’t stop. It’s only blue states that’ll get fucked.
now the market alone will dictate rates if FEMA is taken out of the picture
Nah, Florida will just pass a law making it illegal for insurers to leave the state. Surely that will work!
They’d save more effort by making it illegal for hurricanes to hit Florida. Borrow Trump’s marker and make them hit Alabama instead.
These budget cuts are getting weird.
This is money that will just stay with the states. For the best for places like California and Washington. For the worst for places like Florida.
Which is to say that this is terrible, but if states aren’t giving money to FEMA, the money will stay there.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t FEMA funded out of the Federal budget? Meaning if they cut FEMA, that money will just go elsewhere, not “just stay with the states”.
EDIT added clarification.
Yes, but it’s blue states that contribute the most and red states that take the most. Without the federal government distributing these tax dollars, red states won’t be able to afford disaster recovery.
‘elsewhere’ as in tax breaks for the wealthy and funneled to lord diaper’s designated recipients.
florida, louisana, and texas. far and away the largest recipients of fema dollars over the last decade.
https://www.axios.com/2024/10/08/fema-direct-payments-state-recipients
Yeah, they’re not cutting subsidies to businesses, rolling back tax breaks, or anything that affects the deep pockets. Nope. They’re cutting stuff that helps people at home and abroad. Cut FEMA here, cut foreign aid. Eliminating housing and food help.
I mean, they kind of said they were going to take this tack pretty clearly
Sure. But the people that needed to understand that weren’t listening.
Selectively listening I think
Leopards ate my face is a thing for a reason
It’s almost like we are losing the cold war in real time.
As has been Russia’s playbook since at least the late 90’s. It’s just now all coming to head
If you plan to drill baby, drill, natural disasters are only going to get worse, so they are mitigating against future emergency budgets they don’t want to pay by scrapping FEMA—leaving them free to destroy the environment and cut taxes with no future blowback, because states’ rights or some shit.
The south hurt itself in its confusion.
…again
I think you misunderstand his goal here. This won’t stop him from giving aid to the people/states who help him. This will only stop FEMA helping everyone unconditionally. He isn’t trying to stop aid. He’s trying to stop aid without strings attached. This is a power play.
Plus read about how he specifically didn’t want emergency response people ready to jump in and help, just money. Money to be allocated on personal choice, not need, to the governor. Money for the governor to allocate by personal choice, not need, to communities and companies. This is about buying favors all the way down.
States would need to create an emergency bureaucracy redundant to each other state. California or Texas could do it but good luck South Dakota.
California apparently is in the news regarding secession again. But we have to also consider that it’s BS designed to create more divisiveness.
It’s established what happens should a state decide to secede. There was a war fought over it. It’s not worth speculating about unless it’s happening.
I’m really wishing for a big hurricane seasons this summer
The monkey’s paw curls.
By July, the southeastern United States is battered by storm after storm. The Gulf Coast and much of Florida are devastated, with levees failing, cities flooding, and millions displaced. The media dubs it “The Year of the Tempest.”
With much of the southeastern U.S. uninhabitable, millions of displaced people flee their homes to other states. Entire communities pack what little they can carry and flee inland. Many seek refuge in neighboring states, but the sheer volume of displaced people overwhelms resources. The refugees keep moving, spreading across the country, heading as far as California and the Midwest.
At first, they are met with compassion. Towns open their doors, offering shelters and supplies. But the strain is enormous. Schools overflow, hospitals run out of beds, and housing markets skyrocket.
The social fabric begins to tear. The newcomers carry with them not just their belongings, but their political and cultural beliefs. Many are deeply conservative, opposed to the progressive policies in the states that take them in. School boards clash over curriculum changes. Gun laws, environmental regulations, and LGBTQ+ rights become battlegrounds in communities that had once considered these issues settled.
What starts as a humanitarian crisis quickly becomes a cultural and political one.
By the end of the year, the consequences of the wish are undeniable. Many states see their progressive majorities evaporate. Refugees from the southeastern U.S., driven by desperation and fear, vote in droves to undo the policies of their host states. Climate action bills are tabled as state legislatures pivot to immigration control and oil subsidy.
Meanwhile, the southeastern states, still battered and uninhabitable, become a no-man’s-land, a haunting reminder of the devastation. The hurricanes force millions to leave, but the political ideologies that resist change endure, spreading like a second storm across the country.
Weather patterns put us on track for that
