Trump establishes council to review federal disaster response agency

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday issued an executive order establishing a review council to evaluate the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), stopping short of instant action to shut or reshape the country’s lead disaster response agency.

The order calls for the establishment of council made up of relevant federal leaders and “distinguished individuals” selected by Trump from outside government. Trump called on the council to hold its first public meeting within 90 days and submit a report to him within 180 days of the first meeting.

Trump raised the idea of shuttering FEMA during a trip on Friday to disaster areas in North Carolina and California, vowing to sign an executive order to overhaul or eliminate the agency.

The Republican president accused FEMA of bungling emergency relief efforts there and said he preferred that states be given federal money to handle disasters themselves.

Trump said in his executive order that there were “serious concerns” of political bias at FEMA and that agency funds had been used for programs related to incoming migrants.

FEMA brings in emergency personnel, supplies and equipment to help areas begin to recover from natural disasters. Funding for the agency has soared in recent years as extreme weather events have increased the demand for its services.

Cam Hamilton, the acting FEMA head, wrote to staff on Friday reassuring them that the agency’s continued existence was vital to the country’s disaster response efforts.

“FEMA is a critical agency which performs an essential mission in support of our national security,” he wrote.

The agency in the past year has battled misinformation, including about disaster responses in Florida and North Carolina.

(Reporting by Ted Hesson and Daphne Psaledakis in Washington; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Sonali Paul)