President Trump's proposal to eliminate FEMA raises concerns among Florida lawmakers
TAMPA, Fla. - As President Donald Trump wraps up his first week in office, he has already sparked a major discussion on disaster response, particularly in Florida.
What He's Saying:
During visits to North Carolina and California to survey damage from recent natural disasters, President Trump proposed dismantling the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and shifting disaster relief responsibility to individual states.
"I’ll be signing an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally overhauling FEMA or maybe getting rid of FEMA," Trump said. "I think, frankly, FEMA is not good… FEMA has been a very big disappoint, they cost a tremendous amount of money, very bureaucratic and very slow."
RELATED: Trump targets FEMA while visiting disaster zones in North Carolina, California
Dig deeper:
In Florida, where residents know the devastation of hurricanes all too well, this proposal has raised concerns. State officials warn that without FEMA, Florida may face significant challenges in handling the aftermath of powerful storms like those the state has experienced in recent years.
"It would bankrupt any state that has the storms we’ve experienced in Florida," Representative Lindsay Cross of Pinellas County said. "The estimated damages of the three hurricanes we had this Fall, including Debby, Helene and Milton – the price tag is over $220 billion… that’s about double what our state budget is."

Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith echoed these concerns:
"States just don’t have the resources to handle it alone," Smith said. "While we have had a state response, that’s a huge part of the equation… we also need support from the federal government because states don’t have unlimited resources … I think Trump’s tune will change if Mar-a-Lago is suddenly in the eye of a powerful hurricane as so many Floridians have seen over these last several years."
MORE: What is FEMA? The Federal Emergency Management Agency explained
Can President Trump eliminate FEMA?
Why you should care:
While the proposal has stirred debate, experts said that President Trump could, in theory, eliminate FEMA — but not by himself.
FOX 13’s Political Editor Craig Patrick explained that although Trump has the power to propose sweeping changes to FEMA, he would need Congress to sign off on the idea.
"It’s certainly possible the president could get rid of FEMA, but he would need approval from Congress to do that," Patrick said. "He would need congressional approval to reorganize the government in that way."
The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13's Evyn Moon.
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