NEW REPORT: Florida Faces Perfect Storm as Trump Slashes Health Care and Disaster Preparedness

Former Federal Health and Disaster Officials, Florida Leaders Sound Alarm on Trump’s Threat to Rural Hospitals and Disaster Response

FLORIDA – Sabotaging Our Safety released a new report exposing how Donald Trump is putting Florida’s rural communities at risk through a dangerous one-two punch: gutting disaster preparedness programs while simultaneously slashing health care funding, cutting coverage, and forcing hospitals to close their doors.

Today, Sabotaging Our Safety and Defend America Action held a press call with Shevrin Jones, Florida State Senator; Angie Nixon, Florida State Representative and Sabotaging Our Safety Advisory Council Member; Col. Darren McAuley, Florida State Air Surgeon; Rafael Lemaitre, Sabotaging Our Safety Advisory Council Member and former Director of Public Affairs of FEMA; and Dr. Debra Houry, former Chief Medical Officer of the Centers for Disease Control.

Speakers outlined how Trump’s policies are creating a perfect storm of vulnerability in Florida – closing the rural hospitals that serve as lifelines for communities while dismantling the disaster preparedness programs those same communities depend on when the next storm hits.

“Our hospitals and first responders already are operating in high-risk conditions, and it is important that the infrastructure is in place and it’s ready to work. But unfortunately, the funding that supports these systems is being gutted by Trump and his allies. These cuts will force our hospitals into the red and reduce the capacity to respond to storms when they strike,” said Florida State Senator Shevrin Jones.

“Floridians are tired of being told to prepare for the next storm while politicians in power keep cutting the valuable resources that keep us safe. Trump’s health care cuts and DeSantis’s silence are a one-two punch, knocking out Florida’s working families. When you gut the hospitals that double as emergency command centers during hurricanes, you are not leading. You’re showing us that you’re willing to gamble with our lives,” said Florida State Representative and Sabotaging Our Safety Advisory Council Member Angie Nixon.

“The federal government and the state government should be working together to provide resources for the community to make life easier for Floridians, not to act as impediments and pass that buck and pass that cost on to us, especially here in Florida, where we know we’ll be impacted by storms. We require FEMA, we require the National Weather Service, and we depend on the federal government and the state government’s partnership to provide for our citizens,” said Florida State Air Surgeon Col. Darren McAuley. 

“FEMA has been hit hard by DOGE cuts, RIFs, and now the shutdown and even more threats of layoffs. Rural health care centers and community hospitals are a big part of the puzzle of responding to natural disasters, and when those get gutted, you’re taking a vital Jenga piece away from the tower of an effective disaster response,” said former Director of Public Affairs of FEMA and Sabotaging Our Safety Advisory Council Member Rafael Lemaitre. 

“When you think about the support that CDC provides for the nation and for each state and local community, it is unparalleled. There have been drastic cuts to the CDC – about 30% of the workforce will be lost and terminated. During the current shutdown, our staff would not be able to respond to your communities or provide support to respond to local outbreaks or after a flood or hurricane. That’s fewer boots on the ground to keep all of you safe,” said former Chief Medical Officer of the Centers for Disease Control Dr. Debra Houry.

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