Why Texas could face a steeper burden if Trump slashes FEMA
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Texas could face greater financial burdens than other states if President Trump slashes federal resources for disaster relief, a new analysis finds, with Houstonians feeling the strain given the city's exposure to major storms.
Why it matters: Trump floated "fundamentally overhauling or reforming" FEMA, or "maybe getting rid" of it entirely — fueling concerns that U.S. disaster relief could be thrown into chaos.
By the numbers: Texas would be hit especially hard by reductions in federal relief funding, according to the Carnegie Disaster Dollar Database.
- The state received an average of about $1.4 billion a year in FEMA and HUD relief funding from 2015 to 2024, covering 16 disasters.
- That's equal to 1.8% of Texas' approximate $79 billion in overall spending in fiscal year 2023.
Zoom in: FEMA doled out about $880 million for Hurricane Beryl last year, with HUD adding another $469 million for recovery from the July storm.
- Beryl battered Houston, causing more than $2.5 billion in damage, per early estimates.
- When a derecho last May left many in the Houston area without power, FEMA provided $318 million, and HUD again contributed $469 million.
What they're saying: "Up to now, when there is a disaster, the [federal] government responds," says Sarah Labowitz of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Labowitz leads the spending database.
- "They clean up the debris, they rebuild the schools, they run shelters, they clean the drinking water," Labowitz says.
Flashback: For Hurricane Harvey, which devastated Houston in 2017, FEMA put in $4.5 billion — the largest disaster payout in Texas since 2015 — to help rebuild the city.
Driving the news: Trump is reportedly mulling an executive order empowering state and local governments to handle disaster readiness and relief, and he has already created a "FEMA review council."
- FEMA and other federal agencies funnel billions of dollars to people and communities affected by disasters, ranging from building and infrastructure assistance to financial and direct services for households.
- It's unclear how or whether Trump's order could change that.
- Part of FEMA's utility is also overseeing people, including relief experts who can be dispatched to states as needed after disaster strikes.
The bottom line: The U.S. currently relies on "a federal disaster relief ecosystem that spreads the risk around the country, spreads the costs around the country," Labowitz says.
- "And if we stop spreading the costs around the country, then it's going to fall on states, and it's going to fall on states really unevenly."