We told ya.
Hell, THEY told ya.
Project 2025 at work in your community.
The nation’s top emergency response agency has repeatedly warned that it will run out of money to respond to natural disasters by August.
So some emergency managers found it jarring when White House budget chief Russ Vought insisted that the federal disaster fund is “flush” through September, writes Thomas Frank. They began asking: Is Vought misinformed — or is the administration planning to keep the money pot full by slashing aid to states as the Atlantic hurricane season revs up?
President Donald Trump has long promised to reduce the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s aid to states, putting pressure on governors to handle ballooning disaster costs as climate change intensifies storms, floods and wildfires.
A spokesperson for the Office of Management and Budget declined to address Tom’s questions about the contradiction between FEMA’s assessments and remarks that Vought made in the Oval Office on June 10.
“We’re in a very good place,” Vought said at the time, standing behind Trump. The budget chief added that the disaster fund had $13 billion, and that other federal disaster accounts “are funded, they’re flush.”
In an email, Rachel Cauley affirmed Vought’s statement that the disaster fund “is fully funded.”
In contrast, FEMA projected in its June 3 monthly report that the fund’s balance would drop to $2.8 billion in July and enter a deficit by August that would reach $7.8 billion in September.
Vought could be “clueless,” said former Biden-era FEMA chief of staff Michael Coen. He warned that if the White House believes the agency has adequate funding to get the country through hurricane season — which lasts from June 1 through Nov. 30 — then it won’t request supplemental funding from Congress.
The White House budget chief recently offered a reassuring message about hurricane season: The federal disaster fund is “flush” with enough cash to last through September.
But some emergency managers and officials were alarmed — not comforted — by budget Director Russ Vought’s comments, which contradict Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates that the disaster fund would run out of cash in August, leaving it with a $7.8 billion deficit in September.
The apparent misstatement came as President Donald Trump has promised to reduce FEMA aid, putting pressure on states to handle higher disaster costs as climate change intensifies storms, floods and wildfires. Some critics, including a senior lawmaker, expressed concern that Vought might have revealed a hint about Trump’s plan — if FEMA immediately shrinks the amount of aid going to states, the disaster fund could remain solvent through September.
While we know there is no coherent rhyme or reason for Trump/DOGE “resiliency” cuts, I still worry that a lot of projects—the most conspicuous being the Ike Dike—are too optimistic in the face of sea level rise. stronger storms or intense rain events. Politicians and realtors would have no problem milking these projects as reassurance for residents and buyers, while construction companies just “build to spec” and don’t have to worry about whether it really is practical protection as long as the checks clear.