President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday empowering states and local governments to manage disaster relief in a move that would reduce the authority of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The order elevates the role states and municipalities play in preparing or responding to natural disasters such as fire, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes. It also streamlines federal functions so that local communities can more easily work with federal leaders in Washington.
It also establishes a National Resilience Strategy, which would shift the nation’s disaster preparedness strategy to ensuring critical infrastructure can withstand a catastrophic event rather than “mere information sharing.”
“Local leaders and citizens know their needs best — not bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.,” the order said.
It also ordered a review of “all infrastructure, continuity, and preparedness and response policies” to ensure they align with the National Resilience Strategy, including overhauling and modernizing national disaster policy and streamlining federal functions to make it easier for states and communities to work together.
Mr. Trump has long railed against FEMA’s response to disasters. In January, he told residents of Asheville, North Carolina, which was devastated last year by Hurricane Helene, that FEMA botched the response and the state would have done a much better job running the show.
“When you have a problem like this, I think you want to go — whether it’s a Democratic or Republican governor — you want to use your state to fix it,” he said. “I think we are going to recommend that FEMA go away and we pay directly — we pay a percentage to the state. The state should fix it.”
Shortly after taking office, Mr. Trump signed an executive order establishing a FEMA Review Council to “drastically” improve the federal agency.
In a separate order signed Tuesday, Mr. Trump directed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives from the U.S. Foreign Service. It also bans the use of race, color, religion, gender, or national origin as a basis for Foreign Service recruitment, hiring and promotion.
“Foreign policy positions should be filled by the most qualified individuals, not by discriminatory quotas or ideological requirements,” the order said.
The U.S. Foreign Service is an arm of the State Department that promotes American interests abroad through diplomacy and other government programs.
Since returning to office, Mr. Trump has been on a crusade to end DEI programs across the federal government. He closed the DEI offices at government agencies and put all employees in those offices on paid leave.
The State Department Foreign Service Institute has been impacted by this crusade. It suspended access to more than a thousand training materials and courses, including the removal of more than 2,100 items related to DEI initiatives.
