Post #90 Maryland and the future of FEMA
Maryland could be one natural disaster away from financial Armageddon.
The Trump Administration recently announced that their plans to close the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA. They see it as another way of returning power to the states but it's also another way for the federal government to not spend money to help states when they have disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes etc. The role of the federal government helping states in times of crisis’s started with President Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal.
FEMA historically gets more attention when things go bad than when things go well. In 1992 FEMA’s reaction to Hurricane Andrew in Florida angered residents there. The Bush Administration was not quick enough, and Floridians voted for Bill Clinton as president. When Clinton became president his new FEMA director James Lee Witt was an Emergency Management expert. In eight years, there was barely a complaint about how FEMA was run. In 2005 with Hurricane Katrina, FEMA got a ton of bad publicity for how they managed things in New Orleans. Michael Brown known as Brownie to President George W. Bush was in over his head from day one. He was in the job he got more as a political appointment than an ability appointment.
Since then, most presidents have focused and making sure FEMA is a smooth-running organization. One reason for this is there are a lot of hurricanes in Florida and Florida has a lot of electoral votes.
Historically Maryland has been lucky as far as natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes causing a great deal of damage to the region. But the Trump Administration attitude of you're on your own now gives little comfort if something happens. Maryland already faces a structural deficit issue along with other financial problems. Any type of natural disaster could bankrupt the state.
In April the Trump Administration cancelled several federal grants for the state of Maryland designed to mitigate flooding in several low-lying communities, including Crisfield and South Baltimore. Cancellation of a disaster mitigation program for Crisfield and a wetlands restoration effort in South Baltimore were blows to both communities. The headline on the FEMA webpage stated: FEMA Ends Wasteful, Politicized Grant Program, Returning Agency to Core Mission of Helping Americans Recovering from Natural Disasters.
Eliminating federal programs like FEMA, which Trump wants to do and allow the states to take them over sounds good on paper, but states don't have the financial resources and a variety of other things to deal with some natural disasters. States don't have the Army Corps of Engineers that can come in right away, to help fix things up quickly. In 2022 Hurricane Ian hit Florida. The feds came in to aid in the recovery and provided Florida with money but even with that there are still some parts of Sanibel Island and Fort Myers two and a half years later that look the same the day after the hurricane hit.
Trump wants the governors of their states to deal with the problems when the disasters hit but not all governors have the same skill sets in dealing with natural disasters. Many of them frankly rely on federal aid to help them. Places like Ellicott City in Annapolis have often depended on FEMA money and aid during times of historic flooding. While FEMA was there for Ellicott City in 2016 and 2018, 2025 is a different matter. In June FEMA announced a pause grant funding in the amount of $10 million for Howard County.
Red States receive more FEMA aid than Blue states. The federal government is a security blanket when natural disasters hit. They have resources state governments don't have. They can bring in the Army Corps of Engineers to assist with things rather quickly along with bringing in tons of relief supplies and a variety of other things to get the ball going.
Trump has this attitude currently about FEMA. Will Trump's tune change if a hurricane hits the Palm Beach area in 2026?
Many people feel that what Trump is trying to do is create a situation where states basically must beg him personally for the money necessary if a natural disaster hits their state. This form of groveling is very clever by Trump, but it doesn't help residents of states.
I often wonder what would have happened if the Key Bridge had collapsed at the start of the Trump Administration. I think based on the administration's actions there would be no new Key Bridge in the future that it would be up to the state of Maryland to replace it.