Exclusive: FEMA is “not ready” for hurricane season, internal agency review shows

Hurricane preparations at Federal Emergency Management Agency have slowed to a crawl, and the disaster relief agency “is not ready” for the June 1 start to the season, according to an internal agency review obtained by CNN. Prepared at the direction of new acting Administrator David Richardson as part of a problem-solving exercise at FEMA, the document outlines the agency’s struggles in recent months and raises a number of red flags ahead of hurricane season, including a general uncertainty around its mission, lack of coordination with states and other federal agencies, low morale and new red tape that will likely slow responses. “As FEMA transforms to a smaller footprint, the intent for this hurricane season is not well understood,” the document states. “Thus FEMA is not ready.” President Donald Trump and his allies have criticized FEMA for months as ineffective and unnecessary. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department oversees FEMA, has vowed to “eliminate” the agency. FEMA’s previous acting administrator, former Navy SEAL Cameron Hamilton, was fired last week after telling Congress he did not believe the agency should be eliminated. Richardson – a Department of Homeland Security official, former Marine combat veteran and martial-arts instructor – is now in charge and vowing to enforce President Trump’s agenda. In an all-hands meeting on his first day at FEMA, Richardson told agency staff that he will “run right over” anyone who tries to prevent him from carrying out the president’s mission. “FEMA is part of the Department of Homeland Security, and don’t forget that,” Richardson told agency staff. “I, and I alone, speak for FEMA. I am the president’s representative at FEMA, and I am here to carry out President Trump’s intent.” Like Hamilton, Richardson appears to have no prior experience managing natural disasters. As he takes the helm, he will continue to serve in his other role in the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office at DHS, according to multiple sources briefed on the decision. CNN previously reported on FEMA’s ongoing hurricane preparation problems, but the recently obtained memo is the most significant internal assessment that Americans may see a reduced disaster response from FEMA this year. Most hurricane preparations have “been derailed this year due to other activities like staffing and contracts,” the document states. FEMA’s operations have been siloed in recent months, with limited coordination taking place across agencies. Trainings also have been paused, and critical exercises and collaborations with state partners have not happened. At the same time, agency morale has plummeted since Trump took office, more than a dozen FEMA officials told CNN, as staff endure public attacks from administration officials, lie detector tests to root out media leaks and threats of more steep job cuts. “If an organization hears it should be eliminated or abolished, the resources and cooperation are not there,” the internal review states. “(The) intent cannot be wind down and be ready to support (the) nation in a major response.” Growing turmoil at the agency The disaster relief agency, which employs more than 20,000 workers, has lost roughly 30% of its full-time staff to layoffs and DOGE buyouts, including some if its most experienced and knowledgeable senior leadership, sources told CNN. On top of that, the thousands of FEMA staffers that serve in public-facing roles during disaster response, many of whom work on 2- to 4-year contracts, must now be individually approved for extension by Noem’s office. “What Americans will see is a federal government that is either absent completely or, if present, sputtering to deliver response and recovery resources,” an operational leader at FEMA told CNN. The leadership brain drain and staffing cuts could stretch resources and personnel as they deploy to disasters, which often overlap. And growing turmoil at the agency has left officials uncertain about FEMA’s mission and goals once hurricane season gets underway. “I can’t think of a more adverse way to be heading into hurricane season. We’re all on edge and not seeing hope,” a longtime FEMA official who works directly on disaster response told CNN. “We’re going in with no confidence that when decisions have to be made in limited time that impact saving lives, that those decisions will have support.” In a recent interview with a conservative radio channel, Richardson stressed that the agency will be well-prepared for hurricane season as it completes its “complex problem-solving session,” adding that there is no uncertainty at FEMA about the agency’s mission. “We’re already putting together teams that are going down range to do some evaluation on what readiness has been done at the state level,” Richardson said. “So, we will be ready, we will meet the president’s intent, and we will make sure that the American people are safe. We may do it a little differently. We will be criticized for it. But we will do it very, very effectively.” Meanwhile, Trump officials are discussing drastically raising the threshold for states to qualify for federal disaster assistance, which would make good on the president’s promise to shift more responsibility for disaster response and recovery onto the states. But thus far, the administration has not issued a final decision on these discussed changes. At a hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Noem told lawmakers “there is no formalized, final plan” for how the administration will handle disasters. But administration officials have made it clear they plan to further overhaul FEMA’s mission and shrink its operations. “(The) intent is to reduce the footprint of FEMA. Do it in the logical way, controlled burn, to ensure states have burden and FEMA (is) not taken advantage of,” the document obtained by CNN says. President Trump has created a FEMA review council that is expected to submit recommendations to reform the agency. But concern is growing among federal and state emergency managers that dramatic short-term changes could create dire consequences for communities ill-equipped to handle disasters without federal support. States like California, Texas and Florida could likely shoulder the shifting expectations given their hefty state budgets and robust emergency management infrastructure, the document says. But smaller states, FEMA acknowledges, would likely struggle. Still, the agency’s expectation is that states and the public will face more responsibility for buying insurance and building in less risky areas and to higher infrastructure standards. DHS’s control over FEMA With Noem at the helm, DHS has exerted extraordinary control over FEMA since Trump took office. Noem recently took the unusual step of temporarily blocking all FEMA payments to her home state of South Dakota, including funds to help communities recover from severe storms and flooding, according to multiple sources and internal communications obtained by CNN. In early April, a DHS official reached out to FEMA, telling agency staff they had “received direction to pause payments on any grants to recipients in the State of South Dakota (SD) pending a review by the Secretary,” according to an email obtained by CNN. FEMA staff received no explanation for the pause, sources said, adding that such a directive – singling out a state for a broad payment pause – was unheard of at the disaster relief agency. The fact Noem was withholding money to her home state only further baffled them. “I don’t ever recall an instance where the secretary’s office paused or asked for reviews regarding a particular state,” former FEMA Chief of Staff Michael Coen, who served under the Biden and Obama administrations, told CNN. “It’s alarming. People in appointed positions shouldn’t be using their influence to affect resources that are provided by the taxpayers.” In an email to CNN, a DHS spokesperson denied the department directed FEMA to pause payments to South Dakota. “That’s not accurate,” the spokesperson wrote. “The Secretary reviews every grant based on need — not discrimination based on state.” Nearly three weeks after the initial pause, DHS suddenly reversed the directive. Within days, the Department of Homeland Security issued a press release announcing the distribution of $5.3 million to South Dakota to support disaster relief, antiterrorism efforts and other security needs. “I am pleased to announce that the people of South Dakota will be getting the support they need to rebuild from disasters and protect themselves from human threats like terrorism,” Noem said in the statement. “This is what the federal government should be doing: supporting states while they take the lead in providing for their own security.” The pause is just the latest incident to confound some at FEMA who believe Trump administration officials are playing politics with critical funding and interfering with emergency management at a level they’ve never seen before. CNN previously reported similar concerns after the administration directed the agency to prioritize certain payments to GOP-led Missouri and Virginia. Ousting Trump’s first FEMA administrator During his time at FEMA, Hamilton, whom Trump appointed to oversee the agency when he first took office, clashed with Corey Lewandowski, the long-time Trump ally who is currently working with DHS and Noem as a special government employee, multiple sources with knowledge of their relationship told CNN. Despite Trump and Noem’s repeated calls to dismantle FEMA, Hamilton increasingly believed that preserving FEMA was in the best interest of the American people, even if the agency needed to be significantly reformed. Ultimately, Lewandowski drove the decision to fire Hamilton and replace him with Richardson, a longtime acquaintance, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation. In 2019, Lewandowski wrote a review for Richardon’s book, saying it “will make liberals cringe!” CNN reached out to Richardson and Lewandowski for this story. Hamilton received an unceremonious exit from FEMA. Last Wednesday, just hours before he was scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill, he was mistakenly tipped off to his impending termination, after DHS notified FEMA security that his access would soon be shut off, according to multiple sources. DHS then informed FEMA leadership that an error had been made, the sources said, though he was ultimately fired the next day. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later blamed Hamilton’s testimony for his firing, saying, “This individual testified saying something that was contrary to what the president believes and the goals of this administration in regards to FEMA policy.” Multiple sources say the decision to fire Hamilton was actually weeks in the making. Richardson offered his own take on Hamilton’s termination during his interview with a conservative radio channel, saying, “Where, maybe, Cam got sideways was when he expressed a personal opinion. And I don’t have any personal opinion about it. In my personal opinion, I am here to execute President Trump’s agenda.”