From AP News: FEMA staff reductions paused during winter storm will resume

“The Federal Emergency Management Agency will resume staff cuts that were briefly paused during January’s severe winter storm, according to two FEMA managers, stoking concern across the agency over its ability to address disasters with fewer workers.”

From HSNW: States Reeling from Winter Storm Encounter a Smaller FEMA
“The Trump administration was quick to mobilize initial aid, but it’s not clear how a shrunken agency will handle the long-term recovery costs.

States slammed by a deadly, multiday winter storm that left hundreds of thousands of people without power in bitter cold are looking to a slimmed-down Federal Emergency Management Agency for support.

The immediate aftermath of the wide-sweeping storm — and the recovery process on the horizon — will provide another test for the second Trump administration’s reshaped disaster response agency.

Trump has approved emergency declarations for 12 states. That opens pathways for state governments to access federal assistance for immediate, life-saving needs, at FEMA’s discretion. The declarations allow hard-hit states such as Tennessee, Louisiana and Mississippi to tap into federal resources as state and local governments work to restore power, clear roads, and otherwise lessen the disaster’s overall impact.”

From NRDC: Death by a Thousand Cuts: FEMA Under the Second Trump Administration. The agency’s mission is simple: to help people before, during, and after a disaster. This administration is making that almost impossible.

“In a year, the Trump administration has crippled the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through indecision, layers of bureaucracy, and massive staff loss. The American public is now faced with a FEMA that is too buried in paperwork to respond, too afraid to act, and increasingly too depleted to lead. Communities reeling from catastrophes are left asking: “Will FEMA be there to help?” And increasingly, the answer is “no.”