The 2025 hurricane season is on the horizon in the U.S., set to begin June 1, 2025, and run through November 30, 2025. Last year’s hurricane season in the U.S. saw 18 named storms, 11 of which became hurricanes, and five of which reached major hurricane status.
“Year after year, the climate crisis continues to break new records, resulting in more extreme weather events, including rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones, intense rainfall and flooding,” said World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
And as the nation braces for more storm uncertainty in 2025, many are questioning whether or not the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is ready to properly execute its disaster response teams in the event of an emergency.
In remarks at a recent House Rules Committee hearing, Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida echoed his concerns that the Agency may not be ready if disaster strikes. Rep. Moskowitz said budget cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have made FEMA inefficient, and these cuts may risk sending hurricane-prone states into bankruptcy if they are denied federal aid when a storm strikes.
Last year alone, storms and hurricanes in the U.S. ran up a price tag of nearly $180 billion in damages, with October’s Hurricane Milton topped the list as the most expensive single event, causing $60 billion in damages and killing 25. The Category 5 hurricane came just two weeks after Hurricane Helene struck the U.S., Cuba, and Mexico, racking up $55 billion in damages, and claiming 232 lives.
World Weather Attribution reports that climate change made Helene’s winds some 11% more intense and its rains 10% heavier. Helene strengthened from a Category 2 to a Category 4 hurricane in just 10 hours, driven by warmer than usual ocean temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico.
“Remember that ‘DOGE?’ Remember the ‘E’ at the end of DOGE? The word ‘efficiency?,’” Moskowitz questioned. “Nothing at FEMA has been made more efficient. In fact, I would tell you that the secretary of Homeland Security has turned FEMA into the Newark Airport, OK? It is going to fail this summer.”
CNN found that FEMA, which employs more than 20,000, has lost roughly 30% of its full-time staff to layoffs and DOGE buyouts.
President Donald Trump has criticized FEMA for months as ineffective and unnecessary, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department oversees FEMA, has stated that she seeks to “eliminate” the agency.
“And so look, there’s no doubt that FEMA needed reform, but what they’ve done at Homeland is they’ve taken something that needed help, and they broke it further,” Rep. Moskowitz added.
Further, a memo from former acting FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton outlines a list of recommendations for Trump to follow that could drastically reduce the number of emergency declarations the President approves, and the amount of federal assistance given to areas hit by storms. The memo outlines the FEMA’s struggles in recent months, and raises a number of red flags ahead of hurricane season, including a general uncertainty around its mission, lack of coordination with states and other federal agencies, low morale and new red tape that will slow responses.
“As FEMA transforms to a smaller footprint, the intent for this hurricane season is not well understood,” states the document obtained by CNN. “Thus, FEMA is not ready.”
Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL, was recently dismissed from his role as FEMA head and replaced by David Richardson, Senior Official Performing the Duties of FEMA Administrator.
Rep. Moskowitz, along with Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, recently introduced legislation to reform block grant programs under FEMA to ensure critical federal assistance can more quickly be deployed to communities in need. The Disaster Housing Flexibility Act of 2025 and the Disaster Response Flexibility Act of 2025, would operationalize block grants for housing assistance and public assistance, respectively, and would be voluntary for states to opt into.
“Bureaucracy at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is getting in the way of FEMA fulfilling its core mission,” added Rep. Moskowitz. “Under DHS, FEMA has become a grant agency that also does emergency management, rather than an emergency management agency that also does grants. To cut red tape and improve FEMA’s effectiveness, we have to get it out of DHS—which my FEMA Independence Act does by reinstating FEMA as a Cabinet agency that reports directly to the President—and we have to get FEMA’s resources closer to the ground faster through block grants.”
Before entering Congress, Rep. Moskowitz served as Florida’s Director of Emergency Management from 2019-2021, where he oversaw disaster response and recovery for the DeSantis Administration for major events like the COVID-19 pandemic and the Category 5 Hurricane Michael.
Back in March, Rep. Moskowitz introduced the FEMA Independence Act, a bipartisan bill with Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida to restore FEMA’s status as an independent, Cabinet-level agency reporting directly to the President. The bill would also require that FEMA’s Senate-confirmed leader have “a demonstrated ability in and knowledge of emergency management and homeland security” across the public and private sectors. Under the bill, FEMA would still carry out all responsibilities given to it prior to the enactment of the FEMA Independence Act, including under the Stafford Act.
“FEMA can’t be eliminated. Period! But we can save it by reforming it. These commonsense proposals—my FEMA Independence Act and my new legislation to expand FEMA’s block grant programs—will cut red tape, make disaster recovery more efficient, and help FEMA better deliver for the American people,” said Rep. Moskowitz. “I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance these reforms and ensure FEMA and the critical assistance it provides are there when our communities need it.”
