ICYMI: Former FEMA Officials Raise the Alarm on Mullin’s Nomination

WASHINGTON, DC - For months, experts and advocates have been raising urgent concerns about the catastrophic mismanagement of FEMA under Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Sabotaging Our Safety has been at the forefront of this fight, demanding FEMA become an independent cabinet-level agency to protect it from the incompetence and politicization that has left millions of Americans facing disasters in danger.

Now, President Trump has nominated Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin to lead the Department of Homeland Security. Mullin’s home state has received approval for more federal disaster aid than any other state in 20 years, yet his record on disaster relief funding is inconsistent. While he has advocated for FEMA assistance following Oklahoma's devastating tornadoes, he voted against critical FEMA funding in 2024 even as his constituents faced mounting climate disasters.

See coverage from Mullin’s nomination below:

The Hill: Noem’s ouster leaves open questions about FEMA’s future

“All-in-all, the shakeup means further uncertainty for an agency that helps Americans before, during and after disasters and has been in the administration’s crosshairs…

For his part, Mullin, who comes from a particularly tornado-prone state, told NOTUS last year that FEMA “isn’t bad to work with, they’re just inefficient.” He said that Oklahoma agencies could manage disasters more efficiently because they “live and breathe that neighborhood.” …

Others critics, such as Rafael Lemaitre, who was FEMA’s public affairs director during the Obama administration, remain skeptical, as Trump himself has been a driving force in reshaping the agency.

“I fear it’s going to take a decade to rebuild FEMA from the catastrophic damage that she’s dealt to that agency,” Lemaitre said, referring to Noem. “It’s just been since day one, they’ve politicized disaster response. There’s been a tremendous amount of brain drain that has occurred under her reign as secretary.”

“My hope is that things will improve, but you can change the driver, but if you’re still on the same road, you’re going to end up in the same ditch,” he said.”

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