- Today
- Holidays
- Birthdays
- Reminders
- Cities
- Atlanta
- Austin
- Baltimore
- Berwyn
- Beverly Hills
- Birmingham
- Boston
- Brooklyn
- Buffalo
- Charlotte
- Chicago
- Cincinnati
- Cleveland
- Columbus
- Dallas
- Denver
- Detroit
- Fort Worth
- Houston
- Indianapolis
- Knoxville
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Louisville
- Madison
- Memphis
- Miami
- Milwaukee
- Minneapolis
- Nashville
- New Orleans
- New York
- Omaha
- Orlando
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- Pittsburgh
- Portland
- Raleigh
- Richmond
- Rutherford
- Sacramento
- Salt Lake City
- San Antonio
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Jose
- Seattle
- Tampa
- Tucson
- Washington
Fired DHS head Kristi Noem pushed to cut FEMA staff by 50%, give states bigger disaster role: docs
Draft report shows Noem's team wanted to radically transform the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Mar. 13, 2026 at 5:52pm
Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›
A draft report seen by The Post shows that former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem's team had pushed to radically transform the Federal Emergency Management Agency by cutting its workforce in half and relocating personnel across the country. The report called for shifting the organization of emergency response to the states while having the federal government take on a secondary role.
Why it matters
FEMA has struggled to keep pace with the spate of natural disasters that have ravaged parts of the country in recent years, leading to calls for reform. Noem's proposed changes would have significantly reduced FEMA's role and shifted more responsibility to state governments.
The details
The FEMA Review Council, on which Noem served as co-chair, called for converting FEMA's Public Assistance (PA) program to a block grant system, where the federal government would foot the bill for 50% of disaster relief costs and provide up to 75% for states deemed most effective at managing taxpayer money. The report also recommended privatizing parts of the National Flood Insurance Program and expediting payments for historical disasters like Hurricane Katrina. To complement these steps, the draft report called for reducing FEMA headcount to 12,000 from just over 24,000, with 6,500 based out of regional offices and 5,500 working out of the nation's capital.
- In January 2025, President Trump tasked the council with finding ways to improve FEMA.
- Earlier this year, Trump extended the FEMA Review Council's existence to March 25.
The players
Kristi Noem
Former Secretary of Homeland Security who co-chaired the FEMA Review Council and pushed for radical changes to the agency.
Pete Hegseth
Secretary of War who co-chaired the FEMA Review Council with Noem.
Jared Moskowitz
Representative from Florida who publicly criticized Noem for removing vital information from the draft report.
FEMA Review Council
A panel that was tasked with finding ways to improve FEMA.
FEMA
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has struggled to respond to recent natural disasters.
What they’re saying
“You cut out all the stuff that was put in by governors who had been through disasters, emergency managers, FEMA experts, national security experts — you cut it all out.”
— Jared Moskowitz, Representative from Florida (House Judiciary Committee hearing)
What’s next
The draft report remains under review by the White House and has not yet been made public. The FEMA Review Council's final report is expected to be released to the public once it has been approved by the co-chairs and council members.
The takeaway
Noem's proposed changes to FEMA would have significantly reduced the agency's role and shifted more responsibility to state governments, raising concerns about the federal government's ability to effectively respond to natural disasters in the future.
