Trump to sign disaster relief order putting states, localities in the driver’s seat of catastrophe response

FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order Monday that will put states and local jurisdictions in the driver’s seat of preparing and responding to disasters, Fox News Digital learned. 

“This Order restores state, local, and individual empowerment in disaster preparedness and response, and injects common sense into infrastructure prioritization and strategic investments through risk-informed decisions that make our infrastructure, communities, and economy more resilient to global and dynamic threats and hazards,” details on the order obtained by Fox News Digital show. 

The order emphasizes the role of states, localities and individual leadership over federal leadership while preparing for and coping with disasters — such as flooding or fires — and will “streamline” federal functions so local communities can more easily work with federal leaders in Washington, Fox News Digital learned. 

It also will establish the National Resilience Strategy, which will outline the “priorities, means, and ways to advance the resilience of the nation” while pinpointing risks to key national infrastructure and related systems, Fox Digital learned. 

TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER AIMED AT ‘DRASTICALLY’ IMPROVING FEMA EFFICACY, PRIORITIES, COMPETENCE

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Officials will be called to review “all infrastructure, continuity, and preparedness and response policies” to ensure they fall in line with the National Resilience Strategy. 

The order will shift the federal government’s “all-hazards” approach to handling disasters to a “risk-informed approach” that will prioritize “resilience and action over mere information sharing,” Fox Digital learned. 

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Trump has railed against the nation’s response to natural disasters under the Biden administration. He told Fox News’ Sean Hannity just days after his inauguration that “FEMA has not done their job for the last four years” and he would like to see “states take care of their own problems” as they have historically relied on the federal government and its resources and funds to handle disasters. 

President Joe Biden participates in a briefing on a hurricane in 2021.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

FEMA came under the nation’s microscope in 2024 when Hurricane Helene ripped through North Carolina, devastating residents as it wiped out homes and businesses and killed more than 100 people. FEMA and the Biden administration faced fierce backlash for its handling of the emergency, while Trump accused the agency of obstructing relief efforts in Republican areas. 

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Trump signed a separate executive order in January establishing FEMA Review Council to “drastically” improve the federal agency tasked with handling disaster assistance across the nation. 

Firefighters battle the Lilac Fire along Interstate 15 near the Bonsall community of San Diego County, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 21. (AP/Noah Berger)

“Despite obligating nearly $30 billion in disaster aid each of the past three years, FEMA has managed to leave vulnerable Americans without the resources or support they need when they need it most,” that executive order read. “There are serious concerns of political bias in FEMA. Indeed, at least one former FEMA responder has stated that FEMA managers directed her to avoid homes of individuals supporting the campaign of Donald J. Trump for President.”

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Trump additionally has railed against left-wing policies that he says have compounded natural disaster response, most notably in California over its water infrastructure policies that he said contributed to the raging wildfires that destroyed swaths of areas around Los Angeles in January. 

A helicopter drops water on the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Etienne Laurent/The Associated Press )

“Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,” Trump posted to Truth Social in January as the wildfires spread. 

Trump signed a separate executive order on Jan. 24 that provides additional water resources to California to improve the state’s response to disaster. 

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The order Trump is expected to sign on Monday will serve as a continuation of his pledge “to shift power from Washington to the American people,” similar to the California executive order and establishing the FEMA Review Council in January, Fox Digital learned. 

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.