Trump signs executive order to examine FEMA overhaul

• Trump could significantly impact state and federal disaster response by withholding federal disaster declarations and preventing certain types of aid from flowing to states, at least for a time. He's threatened to do so in wildfire-hit California.
• He's yet to name a head to oversee FEMA.

Driving the news: Trump signed the order after visiting communities impacted by historic fires in Southern California on Friday during his first presidential trip of his second term.

• The order calls for the creation of a task force, dubbed the Federal Emergency Management Agency Review Council, to review FEMA and recommend changes in a report to Trump.
• The group will be composed of the secretaries of homeland security and defense, along with private-sector subject matter experts, per the order.

Between the lines: The task force could recommend getting rid of the agency.

• But only Congress can get rid of FEMA.

Our thought bubble: There is agreement among many experts in the disaster management community that some reforms to FEMA are necessary, Axios' Andrew Freedman says.

• However, governors are likely to push back against attempts to have them shoulder the full burden of disaster response given their comparative lack of resources.

Go deeper: Trump suggests states should handle emergency response instead of FEMA

Editor's note: The headline has been updated to clarify that the executive order calls for an examination of overhauling FEMA.