Weeks before flash floods devastated the Texas Hill Country, Gov. Greg Abbott participated in the first meeting of a new council to overhaul the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He criticized FEMA as “slow and clunky,” arguing that states are able to respond “more nimbly, more swiftly, more effectively” to disasters.

Just days into his second term, President Trump said he was going to recommend that the Federal Emergency Management Agency “go away,” dismissing the agency as bloated and ine

As President Donald Trump headed to Texas to see the brutal effects of the floods firsthand, a senior White House official told The Washington Post the administration is focused on “rebranding” the disaster response agency instead of eliminating it entirely.