A.G. Gancarski
Gov. Ron DeSantis still thinks the feds should fund Florida’s storm recovery, and says he doesn’t expect the Donald Trump administration to stop socializing costs even if the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is phased out.
But if the feds get out of the business of disaster management entirely, DeSantis said Florida could handle it and would be willing to do so for the greater good of the nation.
“Some have said, ‘Well, what if they don’t block grant any money? What if they just get out of disaster management and just say the states must fend for themselves?’ Well, listen, if that happens, we’ve got a big surplus. We would have to make adjustments to how we approach things. But I can do that,” DeSantis said in Kissimmee.
“Just let me know what’s in the best interest of the United States. And if it is, then Florida will respond very, very appropriately. But that would obviously require us to change a little bit about what we’re doing. But I don’t anticipate that being the case.”
However, the Governor believes Trump will come through with “block grants … maybe in time for next” hurricane season. He said those appropriations would give Florida the resources it needs to respond to storms without the “impediment” of FEMA bureaucracy.
“We’re nimble, we’re quick, we adjust, so empower the states. Give us the resources, and we don’t need, necessarily, the federal government to be involved at all,” DeSantis said.
Though he allowed that Florida might need the Coast Guard to “supplement” the state’s efforts, DeSantis is confident in what is “by and large a local and state driven process.”
“We have the Florida State Guard, the Florida National Guard, Florida Highway Patrol, our Sheriff’s departments, our Police departments, Fish and Wildlife, Florida Department of Law Enforcement. All these people, you know, do a great job,” DeSantis explained.
“Even the urban search and rescue teams, those are ostensibly under the banner of DHS (U.S. Department of Homeland Security). But they’re basically local Fire Departments that then get federalized. So those are our people anyways.”
4 comments
Michael K
April 14, 2025 at 3:11 pm
TRANSLATION:
Trump is destroying FEMA.
Cat 5 Patty
April 14, 2025 at 3:18 pm
Two.more month until hurricane season
MH/Duuuval
April 16, 2025 at 9:30 am
MAGA plan is to cut spending so the top ten percent can get their unnecessary, yuge tax cut. Here’s just one example:
“The Biden administration approved FEMA’s reimbursement for 100% of disaster relief, particularly emergency protective services and the removal of debris, renewable after six months.
“Trump won North Carolina by more than 3 points, but on Saturday the Trump administration denied North Carolina’s application for a 90-day extension. “The need in western North Carolina remains immense—people need debris removed, homes rebuilt, and roads restored,” North Carolina governor Josh Stein said.
MarvinM
April 18, 2025 at 6:52 pm
Where’s he going to get the money? He has said, several times about several things that we have a big surplus.
But we won’t super soon, if we don’t get FEMA money, and don’t get Medicaid money and don’t get Dept. of Education money, and then decide to reduce or get rid of property taxes and reduce the sales tax, where on earth is Florida state and county/city revenue going to come from?
Tourists? In past years that might have worked but we can’t expect the kind of tourist traffic here we’ve had in previous years. A lot of foreign tourists are not going to come to the USA, and many of the out of state visitors are not going to be able to travel here because they won’t be able to afford it.
I don’t envy the person who wins the governorship of this state in 2026. They will be inheriting a very bad economy and will have to make unpopular decisions to keep the state afloat financially speaking.
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