FEMA staff argue that the Trump administration's cuts risk undoing progress since Katrina

A group of current and former Federal Emergency Management Agency officials warned Congress on Monday that the Trump administration's sweeping changes to the disaster relief agency could reverse decades of reforms made after Hurricane Katrina.

The open letter was released as the U.S. this week marks 20 years since Katrina's 2005 landfall — sparking one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, with nearly 1,400 deaths according to a 2023 estimate and over $200 billion in damage in today's dollars.

The letter argues that the Trump administration — which has sought to significantly reduce FEMA and even floated the idea of abolishing the agency altogether — has made decisions that "hinder the swift execution of our mission." It states that a change in direction is necessary to "prevent not only another national catastrophe like Hurricane Katrina, but the effective dissolution of FEMA itself and the abandonment of the American people such an event would represent."

Released by the advocacy group Stand Up for Science, the "Katrina Declaration" states that it has 181 signatories. Only 35 people signed their names to the letter, while the rest chose anonymity due to "the culture of fear and suppression cultivated by this administration."

It is addressed to several congressional committees and the FEMA Review Council, which was formed by President Trump earlier this year.

The declaration alleges that Mr. Trump's picks to lead FEMA "lack proper qualifications," and criticizes the Trump administration for cutting FEMA's staff.

"Since January 2025, FEMA has been under the leadership of individuals lacking legal qualifications, Senate approval, and the demonstrated background required of a FEMA Administrator," the open letter states.

It also criticizes FEMA for terminating grants meant to help state and local governments prepare their infrastructures to withstand natural disasters and extreme weather. Two-thirds of the counties that have received those grants voted for Mr. Trump over former Vice President Kamala Harris, a CBS News investigation found earlier this year. A federal judge blocked cuts to the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, or BRIC, program earlier this month.

In response to the letter, FEMA's acting press secretary Daniel Llargues said the Department of Homeland Security is "committed to ensuring FEMA delivers for the American people." He said the agency has been "bogged down by red tape, inefficiency, and outdated processes," and defended the Trump administration's handling of natural disasters so far this year.

The Trump Administration has made accountability and reform a priority so that taxpayer dollars actually reach the people and communities they are meant to help," Llargues said. "It is not surprising that some of the same bureaucrats who presided over decades of inefficiency are now objecting to reform. Change is always hard. It is especially for those invested in the status quo. But our obligation is to survivors, not to protecting broken systems.

FEMA has faced months of upheaval since Mr. Trump returned to office.

Days after his inauguration, the president floated either "getting rid of FEMA" or "fundamentally reforming and overhauling" the agency, casting it as overly bureaucratic and arguing that state and local governments should take on a larger role in managing natural disasters. In June, Mr. Trump said he's looking to "wean" states off of FEMA.

The White House has proposed cutting FEMA's budget for non-disaster grants by $646 million in the next fiscal year. The Trump administration is asking Congress to approve a $36.2 billion budget for FEMA, up from $33.1 billion in the fiscal year 2025 budget.

So far this year, FEMA has lost about one-third of its staff through a combination of firings and buyouts, and the administration has overhauled CBS News has previously reported that the contract renewal system covers more than two-thirds of FEMA's workforce.

The agency has had two acting leaders since Mr. Trump returned to office. Christopher Hamilton led the agency until May, when he was fired after saying he did not support eliminating FEMA. His successor, David Richardson, introduced himself to the staff CBS News reported that he warned them during an all-hands meeting, "don't get in my way," and suggested he will "run right over" people he believes are undermining the president's agenda.

The leadership change came weeks before the June 1 start of the Atlantic hurricane season. One review from May found the agency was "not ready" for hurricane season.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story listed the number of deaths caused by Hurricane Katrina at more than 1,800, a figure listed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The story has been updated to reflect that a 2023 report by the National Hurricane Center lowered the estimated number of deaths to 1,392.

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Here's the biggest news you missed this weekend

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said President Donald Trump wants the Federal Emergency Management Agency "remade" rather than completely dismantled.

"I think the president recognizes that FEMA should not exist the way it always has. It needs to be redeployed in a new way, and that's what we did during this response," Noem said in an interview on NBC News' "Meet the Press," referring to the federal government's response to the Texas floods that devastated the region and left more than 120 dead .

Trump has previously criticized FEMA, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, and considered the possibility of "getting rid" of the agency, which administers emergency relief. Noem has also previously stated that the administration would eliminate FEMA.

Asked on "Meet the Press" a second time whether Trump no longer wanted to end the agency, Noem reiterated that she believed the president "wants it to be remade so that it's an agency that is new in how it deploys and supports states."

Noem also dismissed criticism of the administration's flood response from some Democrats after Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called for her resignation.

"I don't care what she thinks," Noem said, adding that there was "no" chance she would resign.

Trump says he will impose a 30% tariff on the EU and Mexico.

President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened a significant tariff increase on the European Union and Mexico, two of the largest U.S. trade partners.

In separate letters published on Truth Social, the president wrote that each country will face a blanket tariff rate of 30% on all goods exported to the U.S. starting Aug. 1, and threatened even higher tariffs if either the E.U. or Mexico retaliates against his new levies.

On Sunday, the E.U. said it would suspend retaliatory tariffs scheduled to take effect on Monday in hopes of reaching a trade deal by the end of the month.

Trump spent last week bringing his trade war back to a roaring boil. He kicked it off by issuing dozens of letters announcing unilateral tariffs, then said he planned to impose 50% duties on copper goods, sending prices of the raw metal to all-time highs. Late Thursday, he announced he would apply a blanket tariff of up to 20% on all imports, as well as a 35% tariff on some, and perhaps all, Canadian imports starting next month.

The letters come as many trade deals that Trump administration officials had said would be signed have failed to materialize, leaving the president with little to show for weeks of negotiations.

Meet the Press

Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., would not rule out running for president in 2028 , telling "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker that he may "take a look" at launching a bid.

I would have never considered this a couple of years ago, but I will not leave a broken country to my kids or to anyone else's," Beshear said. "And so if I'm somebody who, at that point, I believe that I can heal the country, then I'll take a look at it.

Beshear, who was first elected governor in 2019, won re-election in 2023, becoming a rare Democrat to govern a deeply red state, where 64.5% of voters cast ballots for President Donald Trump in 2024.

Asked whether he was running for president, Beshear said, "What I'm doing right now is trying to be a reasonable voice out there that hopefully doesn't just bring Democrats back together, but Democrats, Republicans and independents."

Politics in brief

• One year after Butler: A new Senate report on the attempted assassination of Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania has revealed "multiple, unacceptable failures" in the U.S. Secret Service's planning and response.
• Just like old times: Trump threatened to take away comedian Rosie O'Donnell's U.S. citizenship , something that he cannot legally do, reigniting a decades-long feud between the pair.

• Trump vs. MAGA: Trump faces a revolt from his MAGA base as the Jeffrey Epstein files - and calls for Attorney General Pam Bondi to be fired - dominated a conservative conference in Tampa this weekend.
• Georgia on Trump's mind: How midterm voters react in Georgia , which has taken center stage in the Trump era as a key battleground state, could help determine how the final two years of his presidency go.

Wimbledon crowns its men's and women's champions

Jannik Sinner won his first Wimbledon title on Sunday, defeating rival Carlos Alcaraz in four sets to Capture his fourth Grand Slam title .

In a rematch of June's French Open final — which Alcaraz won after dropping the first two sets — this time it was Sinner who came from behind for the victory. Sinner lost the first set before ultimately winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

It's so special," Sinner said after the match during an on-court interview. "I had a very tough loss in Paris, at the end of the day it doesn't matter how you win or lose, you have to understand what you did wrong. That's what we did.

• Put a cork in it: An ill-timed bottle pop from the crowd resulted in a cork landing on the court Ladies and gentlemen," the umpire said over the loudspeaker, "as a courtesy to both players, please do not pop Champagne corks just as the players are about to serve.

On Saturday, the women's final was almost over before you saw it.

Clocking in at just 57 minutes, the match was a one-sided affair as No. 8 Iga Swiatek defeated No. 13 Amanda Anisimova , 6-0, 6-0, to win her sixth Grand Slam title and first at Wimbledon.

The Pole, 24, became the first woman since 1911 to win the Wimbledon final without losing a single game. She has now won every Grand Slam except the Australian Open.

Honestly, I didn't even dream [of this], because for me, it was just, like, way too far, you know?" Swiatek said. "I feel like I'm already an experienced player after winning the Slams before, but I never really expected this one.

• A star-studded event: While the on-court play garnered headlines, so too did the action off of it. Countless celebrities and athletes were in attendance for the tournament.

Notable quote

More than 1,300 employees were forced out of the State Department on Friday, taking with them decades of specialized skills and on-the-job training as part of the United States diplomatic corps. Several career employees who unexpectedly found themselves with pink slips told NBC News they were baffled by the massive overhaul.

In case you missed it

• Two people were killed and at least three others, including a state trooper, were injured in what authorities described as a series of incidents in Lexington, Kentucky, after a suspect first shot at the trooper.
• A historic lodge on the Grand Canyon's North Rim was destroyed by a fast-moving wildfire , the park said.
• A 20-year-old American from Florida was beaten to death by Israeli settlers while visiting relatives in the occupied West Bank, according to his family and the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• The family of a Northwestern scientist questioned about China ties sued the university , alleging that it discriminated against her even though she was cleared of wrongdoing, forcing her into a psychiatric facility against her will and ultimately leading to her suicide.

• Music icon Dolly Parton opened up about her struggles with songwriting after her husband's death.
• The federal government dropped charges against a Utah doctor accused of destroying $28,000 in Covid vaccines.
• A California farmworker who was critically injured during a chaotic federal immigration raid has died, according to his family.
• Chelsea beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 for the Club World Cup title as Cole Palmer scored twice and set up a third goal.

This article was originally published on newsrealtime

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