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Richardson says Trump administration no longer pushing to eliminate FEMA

Richardson says Trump administration no longer pushing to eliminate FEMA
  • Former FEMA acting administrator David Richardson says the Trump administration has moved past its early push to eliminate the disaster-response agency, citing what he was told in July 2025 and his new book.
  • Richardson says he arrived in May 2025 with a plan to cut FEMA headquarters staffing from about 6,000 to no more than 2,000 by November 2025.
  • A Department of Homeland Security deputy chief of staff told Richardson in July 2025, "Dave, things have changed," and said the president's emergency council, not Richardson, would decide FEMA's future.
  • Emergency managers from states led by Republican governors at council meetings that summer discussed reforming FEMA but did not publicly advocate for eliminating it.
  • A recent Government Accountability Office report flagged FEMA understaffing; this week the agency announced a pilot program with Indiana to expedite disaster relief for flood repairs.
 2026-09-03 · 4 MIN READ

Charity Hospital in New Orleans set for redevelopment 21 years after Katrina

Illustration accompanying article: Charity Hospital in New Orleans set for redevelopment 21 years after Katrina
  • The Associated Press reports that Charity Hospital in New Orleans is moving toward redevelopment, more than two decades after Hurricane Katrina shuttered the building in 2005.
  • During Katrina, doctors at Charity scrambled to keep patients alive without power or functioning medical equipment while floodwaters trapped them inside the darkened halls for days.
  • Louisiana marks the storm's 21st anniversary Saturday, with the shuttered hospital's future among the visible markers of the city's long recovery.
  • Helena Moreno and Tulane University's Michael Fitts have been involved in redevelopment planning, according to the AP.
 2026-08-28 · 3 MIN READ
Illustration accompanying article: Possible tornado hits Atlantic Beach; Nassau County declares emergency