Trump Ousts FEMA Acting Lead 19 Days Until Hurricane Season
Karen Evans Ousted As FEMA Acting Lead, Continuing a Pattern of Chaos Under Trump’s FEMA As Hurricane Season Approaches
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Yesterday, the Trump administration removed Karen Evans from her role as acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)—the third leadership change at the agency in less than two years. Evans' departure comes as concerns mount over FEMA's readiness for the approaching disaster season.
Her temporary replacement, Robert Fenton, previously served on Trump's FEMA Review Council, which recommended an aggressive overhaul of the agency, including shifting disaster response responsibilities to states. A new report from Sabotaging Our Safety evaluates the administration's disaster response capacity across four dimensions—leadership, workforce, agency structure and strategic planning, and hurricane season preparedness—concluding that the administration's cuts have severely undermined FEMA's ability to respond to disasters.
"The Trump administration spent over a year dismantling FEMA piece by piece, and now they're throwing the agency into chaos just days before hurricane season," said Sabotaging Our Safety Advisory Council member Tory Gavito. "Fenton's appointment may be a step forward, but his record on Trump's overtly political review council raises serious concerns. FEMA needs investment and stability, not leadership focused on gutting the agency on the eve of disaster season. True stability requires removing FEMA from the political dysfunction of DHS and establishing it as an independent agency."
More on Hurricane Season Preparedness:
For the first time in at least five years, FEMA did not attend the National Hurricane Conference—the annual gathering where approximately 1,800 state and local emergency managers coordinate ahead of storm season. No HURREVAC training has been announced; the contract for this critical evacuation planning tool nearly lapsed entirely in March. Annual Rehearsal of Concept drills—conducted every year since at least 2021—have not been scheduled. And FEMA's Center for Domestic Preparedness skipped its Hurricane Theme Week in April for the first time since at least 2022.
Sabotaging Our Safety has long called for FEMA to become an independent, cabinet-level agency, citing years of politicization and mismanagement that have left millions of Americans vulnerable in the face of disaster. The organization continues to demand transparent data-sharing with Congress, accountability in disaster aid allocation, and an end to the diversion of FEMA resources away from their core mission of protecting the public.
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