DHS Secretary Kristi Noem says Trump wants FEMA 'remade,' not dismantled [View all]

Source: NBC News

July 13, 2025, 9:42 AM EDT / Updated July 13, 2025, 11:59 AM EDT


Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday that President Donald Trump wants the Federal Emergency Management Agency “remade” rather than dismantled entirely.

“I think the president recognizes that FEMA should not exist the way that it always has been. It needs to be redeployed in a new way, and that’s what we did during this response,” Noem said in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” referring to the federal government’s response to the Texas floods.

“It’s not just FEMA that can respond in these situations. The federal government has all kinds of assets, and we deployed them,” Noem added, pointing to the Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection helping with disaster response. Both groups routinely respond to disasters.

Trump has previously slammed FEMA, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, and mused about possibly “getting rid” of the agency, which administers emergency relief. Noem, too, has previously said that the administration would eliminate FEMA. Asked on “Meet the Press” a second time whether Trump no longer wanted to end the agency, Noem reiterated that she believed the president “wants it to be remade so that it’s an agency that is new in how it deploys and supports states.”

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/dhs-secretary-kristi-noem-trump-wants-fema-remade-not-dismantled-texas-rcna218507