Noem Says Trump Wants FEMA ‘Remade,’ Not Eliminated Entirely

The homeland security secretary’s comments come as the death toll from floods in Texas has continued to rise.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference outside the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington on July 8, 2025. Umit Bektas/Reuters

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said on July 13 that the Trump administration is working to remake the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) rather than dismantle it.

“I think [President Donald Trump] recognizes that FEMA should not exist the way that it always has been. It needs to be redeployed in a new way, and that’s what we did during this response,” Noem told NBC News’s “Meet the Press,” responding to questions about the federal response to deadly flooding in central Texas.