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Donald Trump voiced his grievances about FEMA after returning to the White House for his second term. The Republican signed a series of executive orders, one of which proposed to “begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA, or maybe getting rid of FEMA.” In addition to this, Trump also moved to terminate DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) federal offices and programs early in his presidency. A significant question now arises: How many FEMA employees could be affected by such changes or the potential removal of the agency?
“I think, frankly, FEMA is not good,” Trump said in January 2025 in Fletcher, North Carolina. “FEMA has really let us down, let the country down. And I don’t know if that’s (Joe) Biden’s fault or whose fault it is, but we’re going to take over it. We’re going to do a good job.”
With the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a nongovernmental entity, the Trump administration has been executing large-scale reductions in the federal workforce. Additionally, on March 24, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced plans to “eliminate” the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) during a televised Cabinet meeting.
Learn more about FEMA, its employees, and its purpose below.
President Trump in North Carolina: “FEMA has really let us down. Let the country down. I don’t know if that’s Biden’s fault or whose fault it is, but we’re going to take over an we’re going to do a good job.” pic.twitter.com/pNpY8NyOyL
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 24, 2025
What Does FEMA Stand for?
FEMA stands for Federal Emergency Management Agency.
What Does FEMA Do?
The agency was created to help the United States prepare for and recover from various natural disasters. The agency works alongside local governments to assist individuals and communities affected by disasters, such as losing a home in a wildfire or hurricane.
FEMA’s involvement begins only when a state formally requests federal aid or when a natural disaster exceeds the capabilities of local officials. In these cases, the president must sign a declaration confirming that the area will receive federal assistance.
How Many Employees Work for FEMA?
According to FEMA’s official websitethe agency employs more than 20,000 staffers across the United States.
However, in a report released in February 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees FEMA, revealed that more than 200 FEMA employees had been fired. Most of those affected were probationary employees who had been with the agency for less than a year.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are making sweeping cuts and reform across the federal government to eliminate egregious waste and incompetence that has been happening for decades at the expense of the American taxpayer,” said a statement from the DHS. They added that the eliminated positions were considered “non-mission critical personnel.”
Trump has previously argued that disaster management should be primarily handled by individual states, rather than a centralized federal agency.
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