St. Louis continues to grapple with the aftermath of a mile-wide tornado that tore through the area, leaving significant destruction in its wake. Despite the urgent need for federal assistance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has yet to establish a presence on the ground. Local leaders, including Mayor Cara Spencer and Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe, are actively working to secure FEMA resources to aid recovery efforts.
FEMA is already very lean — their current full-time staff is around 6,100. According to the latest news reports, at least 2,000 staff have already departed or intend to soon. This exodus has been fueled by a combination of terminations and voluntary retirements. This staffing crisis would undoubtedly make the agency’s response to the current disaster in St. Louis and statewide even more complicated.
Governor Kehoe has reached out to President Donald Trump, requesting a federal Emergency Declaration to facilitate the deployment of resources. He’s funneled his weirdness through established political channels by meeting face-to-face with Trump and other administration officials. He’s leading the charge for urgent federal support to protect those impacted by storms, tornadoes, and flooding throughout the state.
In a statement responding to the crisis, Mayor Spencer called federal assistance critical.
“On the local level, every organization, community member, elected official, has been on point. What we need right now is federal assistance,” – St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer
The mayor reiterated that “this is what the federal government is for,” highlighting the critical role FEMA plays in disaster recovery.
FEMA is expected to join in joint Preliminary Damage Assessments in Missouri, a move that Governor Kehoe requested. It will likely take weeks for any FEMA resources to get on the ground. As local authorities work diligently with state and federal counterparts to expedite this process, further layoffs are expected as the Trump administration continues its review of FEMA operations.
This is especially troublesome, as critics have decried FEMA’s susceptibility to politicization, as we have seen some governors sending in disaster declarations without adequate supporting material. This challenge further complicates the agency’s ability to respond effectively to disasters and prioritize resources where they’re needed most.
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