One Year Later: Promises, Capacity, and Recovery After Hurricane Helene

Editorial Note: Democracy Forward and co-counsel represent a broad coalition of labor organizations, nonprofit groups, and local governments challenging the Trump-Vance administration’s unlawful reorganization and downsizing of the federal government without congressional authority. On January 27, 2026, the plaintiffs filed a supplemental complaint challenging the unlawful and drastic reduction of staff at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). More information on the litigation is available here. 

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On January 24, 2025, during a visit to Western North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, President Donald Trump stood before communities still struggling to recover and pledged to deliver for the people of the region and support their recovery. During the same appearance, he also said he was considering “getting rid of FEMA,” or the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and that the agency should “go away.”

For disaster survivors and local leaders, that moment mattered because it set expectations about what recovery would look like in the year ahead. Recovery, however, is not shaped by press conferences. It depends on capacity, expertise, and sustained follow-through.

In the year since, those foundations have weakened. Communities across Western North Carolina continue to rebuild from Hurricane Helene, yet much of the federal support promised has not reached them at the pace or scale survivors were led to expect. We know that local governments remain burdened with prolonged recovery responsibilities, and families continue to navigate rebuilding amid uncertainty about when federal help will arrive.

For families in Western North Carolina still living with damage, uncertainty, and unanswered questions, this lack of clarity is not abstract. It shapes daily decisions about whether to sign another short-term lease or begin rebuilding, whether to take on debt to repair a home, or whether to leave a community altogether. Similar choices are confronting families across the country in other disaster-affected communities still rebuilding from recent storms and wildfires, where reduced recovery capacity slows progress and prolongs uncertainty.

During this same period, the federal systems designed to support recovery have faced growing instability. FEMA has already lost more than 2,000 employees in the first year of the administration, along with substantial institutional experience, including a significant number of senior leaders and long-tenured experts, reducing leadership depth and operational expertise at a time when many communities remain deeply engaged in long-term recovery. These dynamics mirror workforce patterns being examined through the Civil Service Strong initiative across other parts of the federal government.     

Following the January 24 visit, statements from the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem echoed the administration’s intent to “dismantle” FEMA and shift greater responsibility to states. While those statements indicated the administration’s approach, they offered limited clarity about what systems, resources, or workforce would replace existing federal capacity. That uncertainty has been prolonged by the ongoing FEMA Review Council, established by President Trump through an executive order, which has yet to provide a clear direction and has left communities still recovering unsure what federal support will look like going forward.

The implications extend beyond staffing alone. One clear example is long-term mitigation. The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program was created during President Trump’s first term, following the 2017 disaster season, to help communities reduce risk before disasters strike. Grounded in evidence showing that every dollar invested in mitigation saves multiple dollars in future recovery costs, the program has continued to enjoy bipartisan support because of its benefits to communities, including rural areas. The administration’s April 4, 2025, cancellation of the program marked a shift away from preventing damage before it happens, increasing the likelihood that homes, schools, and critical facilities will be lost in future disasters. In practice, that means fewer projects that elevate fire stations out of flood zones, harden hospitals and water systems, or relocate emergency facilities before the next storm makes landfall.

But it is clear the administration is not done. Beginning on December 31, 2025, the administration signaled its intent to substantially reduce the federal disaster workforce, with reductions occurring as on-call employees’ appointments expire and are not renewed. By the end of January 2026, approximately 300 on-call disaster employees will have left FEMA under this approach, which has not been tied to an assessment of current workloads or active recovery needs.
The on-call disaster employee positions were created after Hurricane Katrina to address systemic failures revealed when disasters overwhelm staffing depth and specialized expertise. These employees are hired for specific functions, such as logistics, damage assessment, geographic information systems, and recovery program management. Their role is to connect federal resources to real-world recovery by supporting local governments, coordinating partners, and remaining engaged long after the initial emergency fades from view.

Taken together, these developments form a clear throughline from January 24, 2025 to the present. The false promises made that day were not matched by the sustained capacity, clarity, and resources required to deliver on them. The result has been slower recovery, higher long-term costs, and increased strain on communities still working to rebuild after Hurricane Helene.

Disasters will continue to happen. At their core, they test whether the federal government can perform one of its most basic function: helping communities withstand crises and recover when individuals cannot do so alone. The measure of accountability is not whether FEMA exists, but whether the systems, capacity, and commitment that underpin that responsibility are in place when they are needed.

These challenges reflect the kinds of issues Civil Service Strong will be exploring this year. Through the Democracy Works 250 project, the Civil Service Strong Fellowship will document how changes to federal capacity affect disaster response and recovery on the ground, elevate the experiences of public servants and communities navigating those impacts, and identify practical reforms to strengthen the systems people rely on when disaster strikes.  Democracy works when the people who serve it can. Join us to be part of the solution.