BURLINGTON, VT – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) this morning published an opinion in the New York Times entitled: “Don’t Kill FEMA. Fix It.”

In the Guest Essay, Senator Welch outlined why President Trump’s actions to undermine and potentially dissolve FEMA are misguided—but also committed to working with the President on good faith efforts to reform the agency’s long-term recovery process. Following Vermont’s catastrophic floods of July 2023 and July 2024, flood-impacted families and communities have struggled with red tape and frustrating bureaucracy.      

Read Senator Welch’s essay and view an excerpt below:  

Don’t Kill FEMA. Fix It. 
By U.S. Senator Peter Welch 
Published January 27, 2025, by the New York Times 

My state of Vermont is still recovering from two catastrophic floods in the past two years. That’s why I agree with President Trump that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is broken and needs serious reform if it is to meet local communities’ long-term recovery needs. 

But to do away with it completely would be a disaster for red and blue states alike. 

On Friday, while visiting victims of September’s Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, Mr. Trump said he was considering “getting rid of FEMA.” He now reportedly plans to sign an executive order as a step toward reshaping FEMA, which could eliminate the agency. 

Read Senator Welch’s full opinion piece in the New York Times. 

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