The Trump administration is tearing into disgruntled FEMA bureaucrats who are opposing long-overdue reforms to the agency, accusing them of resisting accountability after years of failure.
In a blistering statement Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security made clear that the critics of reform are the same officials who oversaw FEMA’s repeated blunders—and now don’t want to answer for them.
“FEMA has failed to deliver aid, mismanaged contracts and funds, and buried survivors in paperwork,” a DHS spokesman said. “It should surprise no one that the same bureaucrats who allowed this broken system to persist are now the loudest voices resisting change. They’re kicking and screaming because they were comfortable with failure.”
Roughly 200 FEMA staffers recently signed a letter to Congress accusing the Trump administration of damaging disaster preparedness by cutting unnecessary staff, removing climate change ideology, and centralizing control. But DHS made clear that the administration is finally injecting real accountability into a failing bureaucracy.
“FEMA was failing the American people,” the spokesman added. “Now, for the first time in years, there’s real accountability on the table.”
Years of Failure, Fraud, and Political Bias
FEMA’s track record has been riddled with scandal and incompetence. Under the Biden administration, federal responders were slammed for botching the response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, leaving communities in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida abandoned for days.
One FEMA supervisor was caught skipping homes that displayed Trump signs—an act of blatant political discrimination. She was only removed after media exposure forced the agency’s hand.
In another shocking case, a woman awarded a $156 million FEMA contract in 2017 delivered only 50,000 of the 30 million meals promised to Puerto Rican hurricane victims. The meals weren’t even self-heating, as required. She was later convicted of fraud and sentenced to prison.
Watchdog reports have piled up for years. In 2021, the Government Accountability Office found FEMA’s disaster response in the Pacific Islands failed to meet even basic goals. Just 14% of projects met timelines, and some pre-award phases dragged on for over a year.
A separate Inspector General report blasted FEMA for “losing visibility” on $257 million in commodity shipments to Puerto Rico. Deliveries took an average of 69 days. And nearly three years after the island was battered by hurricanes, only 10% of FEMA’s recovery funds had actually been spent.
Billions Wasted, Programs in Crisis
The waste didn’t stop there. A 2020 report showed over $3 billion in potentially fraudulent payments. FEMA failed to verify claims or confirm eligibility for home repairs—costing taxpayers dearly.
In 2025, a separate audit found FEMA overpaid at least $1.5 billion to one state for COVID staffing. Another $32.8 million in improper payments were uncovered. The National Flood Insurance Program remains a financial disaster, sitting $22.5 billion in debt.
“For over a decade, watchdogs and news outlets documented systemic failures that delayed aid, wasted billions, and left survivors trapped in red tape,” DHS said. “Trump and Secretary Kristi Noem are the first to actually confront these problems.”
States Applaud Trump’s Fast Response
While some legacy media outlets have tried to spin blame on the Trump administration over recent Texas flooding, state officials paint a very different picture.
“This was the fastest and most effective federal response Texas has ever received,” said Nim Kidd, Chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management. “Every request I made to Secretary Noem was answered without delay. Lives were saved.”
President Trump has also formed a special council to reassess FEMA’s role and consider shifting more disaster responsibility back to the states—cutting out bloated federal red tape.
The Trump administration says it’s done tolerating failure—and the loudest complaints are coming from those who were never held accountable until now.
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