I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems,” the president said. Federal emergency managers from both parties have made the same argument.

President Donald Trump this week said he wants to reshape the Federal Emergency Management Agency as the U.S. faces the daunting task of rebuilding after storm damage in the Southeast and devastating wildfires in California.

Since former President Jimmy Carter created FEMA in 1979, it has become a massive federal agency with a budget of $29.5 billion in fiscal 2023.