It Is Happening Every Day, Every Where
The Department of Homeland Security is reviewing billions of dollars in grants to make sure cities and states are complying with President Trump’s priorities on immigration and diversity.
President Trump justifies his plan to shutter the Education Department by saying that states should control schools. He’s using the idea to explain other policies now, too.
After a post from Elon Musk, the Trump administration issued orders that effectively halted $100 billion worth of FEMA disaster recovery grants nationwide. Christopher Flavelle, a New York Times reporter who covers disaster policy, describes how people hit by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina are still waiting for emergency funds.
A FEMA funding freeze illustrates the extraordinary power of Elon Musk and DOGE, who have made claims of undue benefits for undocumented immigrants and spurred swift action by federal officials.
The president, who has assailed California’s leaders over wildfires, issued the directive in an executive order that was dated Friday but released on Sunday.
Agencies are gripped with uncertainty about how to implement the blizzard of new policies as workers frantically try to assess the impact on their lives.
“I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems,” the president said. Federal emergency managers from both parties have made the same argument.
“I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems,” the president said. Federal emergency managers from both parties have made the same argument.
Cameron Hamilton does not appear to have experience coordinating responses to large-scale disasters, like the wildfires in California.
President-elect Donald J. Trump picked the South Dakota governor to head the Homeland Security Department, which includes the Federal Emergency Management Agency.