The Trump administration, with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leading the charge, is slashing federal disaster preparedness infrastructure at an alarming rate. FEMA and NOAA—two of the nation’s most critical agencies for weather forecasting and disaster response—are being hollowed out just as climate change-driven disasters become more frequent and severe.
Trump has openly suggested eliminating FEMA altogether, calling it “very bureaucratic” and insisting that states should handle disasters on their own. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, his administration has already initiated deep staff cuts at FEMA, including entire teams dedicated to disaster preparedness and hazard mitigation. Internal emails reveal that staff were ordered to compile lists of employees involved in climate resilience, DEI, and environmental justice initiatives—many of whom were subsequently targeted for termination.
These cuts are already slowing FEMA’s ability to respond to disasters. As of now, the agency is managing 1,057 active incidents across the country, including 97 major disasters and 9 emergency declarations. Yet with fewer personnel, these responses will take longer, be less coordinated, and leave communities even more vulnerable.
Beyond layoffs, FEMA has also been ordered to halt the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS)—a rule designed to ensure federally funded infrastructure is built to withstand future flooding. Under the rule, hospitals, highways, and water treatment plants had to be elevated and strengthened to account for rising sea levels and more intense storms. Without it, FEMA will spend billions rebuilding infrastructure to outdated standards, only for it to be wiped out again when the next disaster hits.
The numbers tell the story:
By canceling the flood protection rule, Trump’s administration is ensuring this cycle of destruction and taxpayer-funded rebuilding continues.
NOAA, the agency responsible for hurricane forecasting, severe storm warnings, and climate monitoring, is also being dismantled. Trump’s team is terminating leases for critical weather service facilities, including a major forecasting hub in Maryland. At the same time, over 2,000 NOAA employees have been laid off in just the past few months, a 20% reduction in its workforce.
The National Weather Service (NWS), which operates under NOAA, has been hit particularly hard. The NWS has lost 10% of its workforce nationwide, with some offices losing up to 30% of their staff, including those in hurricane-prone regions like Miami and Houston. As a result, response times for severe weather alerts and storm predictions are slowing—putting lives at risk.
NOAA isn’t just losing people; it’s also losing four expert advisory committees that guide climate research and weather prediction efforts. This means fewer resources to study extreme weather, just as the country faces stronger hurricanes, deadlier tornadoes, and worsening floods.
Disaster recovery doesn’t stop at FEMA. The Trump administration is also gutting the HUD office responsible for funding long-term rebuilding efforts. The Office of Community Planning and Development—which provides critical aid after disasters like Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy—is being slashed by 84%, dropping from 936 employees to just 150.
HUD’s program has historically provided billions in federal aid when FEMA’s resources were exhausted. After Hurricane Sandy, for instance, HUD distributed $15 billion to help rebuild the Northeast. Without this program, states will be left scrambling for funds to recover from future disasters.
Many of these policies are being spearheaded by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—a Trump-Musk initiative aimed at shrinking the federal workforce. Internal reports indicate that DOGE has been auditing FEMA and NOAA with an eye toward further cuts, calling these agencies “bloated” and “wasteful”. Musk himself has said that FEMA should be terminated, and Trump has backed that sentiment.