Mullin reshapes fema: states, not agency, should lead recovery
Asheville, North Carolina – In a radical departure from established protocol, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin declared during a visit to western North Carolina that states and local municipalities, not the Federal Emergency Management Agency (fema), should spearhead disaster response efforts. The announcement, delivered amidst ongoing recovery from Hurricane Helene’s devastating September 2024 impact, signals a potential overhaul of the federal government’s role in natural disaster relief.
A shift in priorities: empowering local resilience
Mullin’s vision, articulated at a roundtable discussion, envisions fema as a supporting entity, providing resources rather than acting as the primary responder. “We shouldn’t look at FEMA as being a first responder, but look at FEMA as supporting the first responders you already have,” he stated, a sentiment that directly challenges decades of federal disaster management strategy. The secretary's recent actions—clearing a backlog of home buyout requests and rescinding a policy that required his personal approval of contracts over $100,000—seem designed to dismantle bureaucratic roadblocks he claims have stifled the agency’s effectiveness.
The timing of Mullin’s pronouncements is particularly noteworthy. He’s just a month into his tenure, and the Department of Homeland Security, under his leadership, is currently navigating its eighth week of shutdown. Adding to the scrutiny, Mullin’s history—including past questioning of the global climate crisis—has drawn criticism from disaster preparedness experts. The scientific consensus, however, overwhelmingly attributes increased storm intensity and frequency, including Hurricane Helene’s amplified impact, to climate change. An analysis following Helene revealed the storm was 200 to 500 times more likely and 10% wetter due to climate-related factors.
The noem legacy and congressional pushback
Mullin’s push for decentralization arrives in the wake of his predecessor, Kristi Noem’s, widely criticized policy of personally reviewing all FEMA expenditures exceeding $100,000. This micromanagement, as Mullin termed it, created a significant bottleneck in the distribution of recovery funds to Asheville, drawing sharp rebuke from North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis. “It begs the question: why? Why would you be involved in that? Why would that be a policy?” Tillis questioned during a Senate judiciary committee hearing, highlighting the apparent dysfunctionality of the policy.
The Secretary's assertion that state and local entities are