For decades after major hurricanes and other disasters, Americans have found fault with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which oversees the federal government's response to such crises.
After Hurricane Katrina's devastating path through Louisiana and Mississippi 20 years ago, investigations into missteps in FEMA's response led to major changes. Complaints arose again during the response to Hurricane Helene in September 2024 and when President Donald Trump took office earlier this year, one of his earliest actions was calling for FEMA to be dismantled.
Yet seven months, several disasters and thousands of staff reductions later, public support for the agency remains high, according to a new USA TODAY/Ipsos poll.
Among a group of 924 adults who said they were at least partially familiar with FEMA, the poll found 86% agreed FEMA’s services after a natural disaster are very necessary or somewhat necessary. That included 83% of Republicans in the group and 95% of Democrats.
Results of the polling didn’t surprise Craig Fugate, FEMA administrator from 2009-2017 and Florida’s emergency management director for eight years before that, including during the tumultuous 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons.
