Is FEMA Still Helping in Texas?
FEMA is still operating in Texas — but the agency Texans rely on in their darkest moments looks very different from what it did just a few years ago. Significant cuts, policy shifts, and bureaucratic delays have raised serious questions about whether federal disaster help will be there when Texans need it most.
FEMA Is Still Active — But Slower
FEMA has continued issuing disaster declarations for Texas in 2025 and 2026. Active declarations include fire management assistance for the Corner Pocket Fire in March 2026 and the 8 Ball Fire in February 2026, as well as a major disaster declaration for the devastating July 2025 severe storms and flooding that struck Central Texas. However, getting that help to survivors has become far more difficult. FEMA provided over $3 billion to 1.2 million individuals and households affected by recent disasters, including the 2025 Texas floods, yet survivors continued to face long wait times on FEMA's helpline and serious challenges securing post-disaster housing.
Spending Rules Delayed the Texas Flood Response
The July 2025 Hill Country floods exposed deep cracks in FEMA's ability to respond quickly. As floodwaters surged across Central Texas, FEMA officials prepared to deploy search and rescue teams — but almost immediately ran into bureaucratic obstacles. A new spending rule required Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to personally sign off on every contract and grant over $100,000 before funds could be released. Noem did not authorize FEMA's deployment of Urban Search and Rescue teams until Monday — more than 72 hours after the flooding began. By Monday night, only 86 FEMA staffers had been deployed, a fraction of the typical response for a disaster of that scale.
FEMA Is Being Dramatically Restructured
The agency is undergoing its most sweeping overhaul in a generation. A 12-person review council appointed by President Trump has proposed eliminating FEMA as it currently exists, including cutting its workforce roughly in half by eliminating more than 12,000 positions. The agency has already lost about 2,000 employees since Trump took office due to layoffs and departures. The administration has also canceled the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program — a $4.6 billion initiative that provided grants to states for flood and disaster mitigation — meaning Texas will have less access to federal funds to rebuild communities more resiliently.
Texas Leaders Are Part of the Push to Shrink FEMA
Perhaps most striking is that Texas officials are actively involved in redesigning the agency that their own constituents depend on. Governor Greg Abbott and the top emergency official in Texas, W. Nim Kidd, both sit on the FEMA Review Council tasked with recommending changes to the agency. Abbott has called FEMA "slow and clunky," arguing that states can respond more nimbly on their own.
What Texans Should Know
Disaster survivors can expect slower and reduced support from the federal government moving forward, making private insurance, local emergency preparedness, and community support networks more critical than ever. Texans can still apply for FEMA disaster assistance at disasterassistance.gov or by calling 800-621-3362 when a major disaster declaration is in effect for their county.
