Kristi Noem says Trump wants FEMA 'remade,' and more tariffs are set for U.S. trade partners: Weekend Rundown

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said President Donald Trump wants the Federal Emergency Management Agency “remade” rather than dismantled entirely.“I think the president recognizes that FEMA should not exist the way that it always has been.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said President Donald Trump wants the Federal Emergency Management Agency “remade” rather than dismantled entirely.

“I think the president 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 said in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” referring to the federal government’s response to the Texas floods that devastated the region and left more than 120 dead.

Trump has previously slammed FEMA, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, and mused about possibly “getting rid” of the agency, which administers emergency relief. Noem, too, has previously said that the administration would eliminate FEMA.

Asked on “Meet the Press” a second time whether Trump no longer wanted to end the agency, Noem reiterated that she believed the president “wants it to be remade so that it’s an agency that is new in how it deploys and supports states.”

Noem also brushed off criticism of the administration’s flood response from some Democrats after Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called for her resignation.