Reporter To Trump: 'How Soon Do You Want To See FEMA Eliminated?'

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, President Trump was asked about eliminating FEMA.

Transcript

00:00I've never seen that before.

00:01Mr. President, how soon do you want to see FEMA eliminated?

00:05And what's your message to the governors about how much more an expense is going to fall to states?

00:09Yeah, well, it's not going to be so much to states.

00:11We're going to give out less money.

00:13We're going to give it out directly.

00:14It'll be from the president's office.

00:16We'll have somebody here.

00:18Could be Homeland Security.

00:20But we're going to give it out through a method where it's given out.

00:23As an example, I just gave out $71 million to a certain state.

00:28They were looking to do about $120 million.

00:31They were very happy with the $71 million.

00:33We did a little cutting, and they were very happy with it.

00:37So we're going to do it much differently.

00:39We think after this, Christy, I'd say after the hurricane season, we'll start facing that.

00:44Yes, sir.

00:44We set up a FEMA council.

00:46Over the next couple of months, we'll be working on reforms and what FEMA will look like in the future as a different agency,

00:52as under the Department of Homeland Security to the president's vision.

00:56And it will empower governors to go out and respond to emergency situations.

01:01And what the president does best is to make sure that the taxpayers are only fulfilling the need to which is appropriate

01:09and that people are responsible to respond to their own people closest to home.

01:13If a certain state, as an example, gets hit by a hurricane or tonight, that's what the governor, you know,

01:19the governor should be able to handle it.

01:20And frankly, if they can't handle it, the aftermath, then maybe they shouldn't be governor.