Daily Free Press, January 2025
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Jan. 24 to review the Federal Emergency Management Agency, sparking concerns over the future of federal disaster relief in Massachusetts. The order follows Trump’s visits to Swannanoa, North Carolina — an area devastated by Hurricane Helene — and fire-stricken areas of Southern California, where he suggested eliminating FEMA, according to the New York Times.
According to the executive order, the Federal Emergency Management Agency Review Council, co-chaired by the secretaries of Homeland Security and Defense, will assess FEMA’s effectiveness over the past four years, comparing its responses to state and private sector efforts of disaster relief. The council will then submit a report within 180 days evaluating FEMA’s role and the effectiveness of its coordination with states and potential reforms. Unless extended by the President, the council will dissolve after one year.
