WASHINGTON D.C. — A council appointed by President Donald Trump released a 150-action proposal recommending major changes to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster response, funding and flood insurance programs. The 12-member Fema Review Council, in a 74-page report, declared that "It is time to close the chapter on Fema." The council called for a model in which "Disaster response should be locally executed, state or tribally managed, and federally supported."

The council is co-headed by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The committee conducted a nationwide survey of local agencies and held listening sessions in 13 cities with four tribal nations before issuing its recommendations.

The report proposes requiring states to meet higher thresholds for disaster declarations that unlock federal support, leaving evacuation and emergency shelter at the local level, and severely capping payouts to affected homeowners and renters. It also recommends fewer federal environmental and historical reviews, audits and inspections, assigning them to local entities. The council further called for a new funding model for FEMA's public assistance program, consisting of a lump-sum payment issued within 30 days based on projected damages.

Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida division of emergency management and a member of the committee, said "Administrative costs were chewing through a growing share of the assistance that Fema provides." "Declarations should only be requested during events that have truly broken the back of local and state government," Guthrie said.

The report also suggests the private market should take a primary role in the National Flood Insurance Program, a federal program that provides coverage when waters rise and is carrying over $20bn in debt. Homeowners with mortgages in areas labeled as high-risk are required to have federally subsidized flood insurance. Shares of Neptune Flood rose 22% Thursday after the committee published its recommendations.

The word "climate" appears just once in the 74-page report. Shana Udvardy, senior climate resilience policy analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said "The Fema review council completely missed the moment we are in right now." She added that "The administration had already done its best to break Fema down."

In the first half of 2025, damage from weather and climate disasters across the nation totaled more than $101bn.