Welcome to the online edition of From the Politics Desk, our evening newsletter that brings you the latest reporting and analysis from the NBC News political team from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
In today’s edition, we dig into how President Donald Trump capped off a whirlwind week with a new proposal that would significantly change the federal government’s role in disaster response. Plus, “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker looks at what President Trump accomplished — and failed to accomplish — in his first days in office.
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— Adam Wollner
President Trump’s latest policy: Big changes in disaster relief
President Donald Trump today embarked on his first overseas trip since taking office, visiting North Carolina and California, two states devastated by natural disasters in recent months. And he used the opportunity to turn to a familiar enemy: the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
President Trump has criticized FEMA in the past, but on Friday he took it a step further by calling for an overhaul of FEMA, or even a complete abolition.
“I also intend to sign an executive order to begin the process of fundamental reform and overhaul of FEMA. Or maybe even abolish FEMA.Frankly, I think FEMA is bad. I think so,” President Trump said.
He proposed cutting FEMA out of the process completely for future natural disasters, and expressed support for leaving disaster response to the state.
“I want states to deal with disasters. I want states to handle tornadoes and hurricanes and everything else that happens,” Trump said. “And I think you’ll find it’s much cheaper. You can get it done for less than half the cost and get a faster response time.”
Background: As Elise Perlmutter Gumbiner, Vaughn Hillard, and Alexandra Marquez write, FEMA traditionally responds to natural disasters by providing debris removal and humanitarian assistance rather than alone. , working with state and local partners.
Currently, both the state governor and FEMA play a role in disaster response. The governor has the authority to declare a state of emergency, manage and coordinate emergency management agencies, and deploy state resources such as the National Guard.
The federal government would intervene only when states formally request federal assistance or when the situation clearly exceeds the capabilities of states and local governments, requiring the president to sign a disaster declaration. .
Can President Trump do that? To completely eliminate FEMA, Congress would need to give it authority under the Presidential Rehabilitation Act. That means President Trump could seek support from both houses of Congress for the power to consolidate, reorganize, or abolish the executive branch. The last time it happened was during the Reagan administration.
It’s unclear how receptive Republicans will be to that. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a moderate who has not been afraid to break with Trump in the past, called for a “disappointing report on how FEMA has operated” during recent natural disasters. He said he had heard and said additional oversight and hearings would be warranted.
But, she added, “I still think we need some sort of FEMA-like agency at the federal level.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), an ally of President Trump, said it would “probably be a good idea” to abolish FEMA.
What happens next: White House officials told Peter Alexander that President Trump plans to sign the executive order today. This executive order takes the first step toward possible restructuring of the Federal Emergency Management Agency by creating a task force to review and recommend changes to the agency.
What you need to know from Day 5 of Trump’s presidency
In addition to the President’s FEMA statement, there was a lot of news from Trump and his administration today. The top line is:
President Trump has threatened to withhold disaster aid from California, citing disagreements over voter ID laws and water policy. Anthony Fauci’s security has been revoked and he now has his own security guard. President Trump said he was “very surprised” that two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voted against advancing Pete Hegseth’s nomination for secretary of defense. “There is,” he said. A final approval vote will take place tonight. President Trump suggested in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity that Ukraine should not have fought when Russia invaded. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 538 people on Thursday. This is nearly double the agency’s average daily arrest rate of 282 in September 2024, the most recent month for which data is available.
Follow live updates →
Mr. Trump told me what he wanted to do when he took office. The progress so far is as follows.
Written by Kristen Welker
Last month, Donald Trump said he wanted to tackle a variety of issues as soon as he took office. He accomplished some of that in his first five days in office, but some big issues are still on the table.
Speaking on “Meet the Press” in December, he did not rule out pardoning the violent mob on Jan. 6, but he did so on Monday. President Trump also said on his first day in office that he would seek to abolish birthright citizenship. He issued an executive order attempting to do just that, but it’s already facing legal challenges.
In an interview, President Trump said he would sign executive orders on the southern border, energy and electric vehicles, and he also signed executive orders on Monday.
And after President Trump told me over the weekend that he was considering delaying the ban on TikTok, on Monday he signed an order directing the Justice Department not to enforce the ban for 75 days. .
But some of President Trump’s key campaign promises remain on his to-do list.
President Trump announced on his first day in office that he would impose 25% tariffs on products from Mexico and Canada. President Trump sees tariffs as an important economic tool, but he told me in December that he can’t guarantee they won’t drive up prices. .
President Trump also promised an early end to the ongoing war in Ukraine. He told me in December that Ukraine should “probably” prepare to reduce U.S. aid in the fight against Russia after he takes office.
Also in December, Trump hinted that he might redefine his promise of “retaliation,” saying “retaliation comes through success” and appointing a special counsel to investigate former President Joe Biden. That promise was withdrawn.
But this week, President Trump suggested on Fox News that people Biden and the current president pardoned before leaving office should be subject to congressional investigation, saying, “I went through four years of hell. We spent millions of dollars in legal fees and won. But I did it the hard way. It’s really hard to say they don’t have to go through it all.”
On Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” we uncover more about President Trump’s first week in office and discuss what’s next on his agenda with Sens. Lindsey Graham (R.S.C.) and Adam Schiff (R.C.). Democratic Party of California). .
🗞️ More top news today
⚖️ SCOTUS Watch: In a sign that barriers between church and state may further weaken, the Supreme Court agrees to hear Oklahoma state officials’ bid to approve the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school . Continue reading → 🏠 Raise the roof: More than a dozen Republican senators and 49 House Republicans (more than 20% of each chamber) have never previously voted in favor of a bill to raise the debt ceiling, making it a small majority for their party highlights the problems that may be faced when enacting an agenda. Continue reading → 📩 Reply to All: The Trump administration is testing a new way to send emails to the entire federal workforce from a single email address. Continue reading → 🗣️ Speak up: Longtime federal employees say they’re pawns in political battles, DEI work is being misunderstood and they’re under surveillance He says he is afraid that there will be. Continue reading → 💉 RFK Files: Brandi Zadrozny delves into Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s 2019 trip to Samoa during the deadly vaccine disaster. Read more →
That’s all from the political desk for now. Today’s newsletter was edited by Adam Wallner, Bridget Bowman and Ben Kamisar.
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