probably less fema. fema just hasn't done the job. and we are looking at the whole concept of fema. i like the concept when north carolina gets hit, the governor takes care of it. when florida gets hit, the governor takes care of it meaning the state takes care of it. to have a group of people come in from an area that don't even know where they are going in order to solve immediately a problem is something that never worked for me. but this is probably one of the best examples of it not working. and there has been some others like in louisiana, etc. so we will be doing something on fema that i think most people agree. i would like to see the states take care of disasters. let the state take care of the tornadoes and the hurricanes and all of the other things that happen and i think you will find it a lot less expensive and do it for less than half and you will get a lot quicker response. so that seems to be the recommendation but we'll be making that recommendation over the next couple of weeks. we will go to the site now and we are going to figure out a plan for really demolition

>> how will you respond to fema? do you expect to ask congress for additional aid for north carolina and california? >> be direct. in other words, the aid will go through us. so rather than going through fema, it will go through us. and i think maybe this is a good place to start, because and in all fairness to the governor and all fairness to everybody else, fema was not on the ball. and we're going to turn it all around. yes. >> a lot of americans think that this is symbolic of what your campaign was all about. america first, putting your priorities to americans, even going to california, where their policies might have been one of the biggest reasons why they've had these problems. but you're putting the american people first. your thoughts on that? >> we are. thank you. i like that question. boy. i want more questions like that. that's even a statement. thank you very much. he's a good man, that guy. and he's also a very professional reporter. i have to say. thank you very much. yeah. we're putting america first.

they don't need fema to come in. >> what is the role for mr. whatley? in fema outside of fema? >> president trump: i envision an important role for him. any role he wants. he's a capable guy. michael whatley, a very capable guy and he's friends and works with these guys. keeps them elected, right. they have to do a good job otherwise no matter how good michael is it's not going to work. they've done an amazing job. you're lucky, you have great congressmen here and woman, and woman, by the way, very powerful woman. and they're going to do a great job. they'll do it together and work together and we'll supply what they need as they need it. we'll coordinate that and we'll immediately get the army corps, michael, because you need roads built. we're talking about the bridge. we're talking about roads and things. we got to get them built, all right. thank you all very much. thank you very much. >> john: president trump in swannanoa, north carolina, devastated horribly by the rains from hurricane helene. listening to personal stories of hardship and grief and pledging that his admini

fema under fire. president trump slamming the federal agency. >> while claiming. >> he's got a plan to clean up the mess left by multiple natural disasters in states like north carolina and california. his idea let the states fend for themselves. plus, confirm or deny. with the fate of pete hegseth still in doubt just hours before the senate votes on whether to make him the next secretary of defense. what are republicans doing to get him over the finish line? and it's like christmas for conspiracy theorists. president trump promising to release files on the assassinations of jfk, bobby kennedy and martin luther king, information that's been unavailable to the public for more than half a century. a lot to get to on this friday. but we start with president trump using a tour of disaster zones as an opportunity to attack federal first responders and float plans to change the way fema operates, or even pull the plug on the agency altogether after he says. >> they. >> quote, let the country down. the presi

>> what did you say about fema, getting rid of it? can you say more on getting rid of fema? president trump: fema has been a very big disappointment and cost a tremendous amount of money and it's very bureaucratic and very slow. other than that we're very happy with them, ok. and i think when there's a problem with the state, the problem should be taken care of by the state. that's what we have the states for, they take care of problems. the governor can handle things very quickly. and i also noticed when they come, they end up in arguments, they're fighting all the time over who does what. it's just not a good system. this system is so beautifully designed over 250 years approximate. but it's been designed very well and we'll leave it that way. when north carolina, south carolina, florida, tennessee, when everybody knows the governor of tennessee, everybody. do you know everybody here pretty much? right over the hill. >> here to help the people in this region, including tennessee and the people of applachia are grateful you are here and haven't forgotten. there are other di

fema. your new governor, it's not his fault. he's brand new. to the whole situation. but we are going to work together with the governor. we are going to work together with the senators. we are going to work a lot with your congressmen. especially the three in the area. and michael whatley. and i'd like to put michael in charge of making sure everything goes well. and franklin graham has been unbelievable. we made a big contribution to franklin. and we'll continue to do so. i have been hearing nothing but praise for the job that samaritans has done with franklin. we appreciate it. where is franklin? he's around here someplace. good looking guy. he's always been a good looking guy. his father was a good looking guy, too. we loved his father, right? i saw his father in the latter years. i said, well, doesn't have long to go. he was having a hard time. he lived about three or four years after that. they say it was good stock. he had the ultimate good stock. i want to thank you, frankly. you ha

rid of fema. the lead starts. >> right now from the battered towns. >> in north. >> carolina to the. >> burned out. >> neighborhoods in. >> southern california. >> president trump. >> is touring. >> damage on both coasts. >> today. >> but he's also. >> suggesting he might. >> end the federal emergency. management agency or fema. >> the. >> agency in charge of not only disaster response. but disaster rebuilding. what might this mean for. >> the. >> devastated communities. >> already struggling. >> to get back on their feet? >> plus. >> the white. >> house says it is now using. >> military aircraft. for deportation flights, sending. dozens of migrants back to guatemala today. this comes as the military. >> announces the first group. >> of active duty. >> forces deployed. to the us-mexico. >> border. >> and in. >> just a matter of hours, four more hostages are expected to return to israel from gaza. larry sabato karina elle reeve, naama levy and daniella gilboa. are set to be part of the latest round

, or maybe getting rid of fema. i think, frankly, fema is not good. >> thousands of households impacted by that storm have been helped by fema's transitional sheltering assistance programs, but many are left homeless by the disaster. some say the process has been confusing and stressful. cnn's meena duerson reports is another. >> spot to. >> you. >> and i do some schoolwork and eat. got our second. >> bathroom slash closet. yes, yes. right now, this hotel room is home for meghan and her daughters. in september, the house they just moved into flooded in hurricane helene. and they bounced from shelter to shelter until a fema housing voucher came through. >> we stayed at la quinta there for a couple of weeks, and then they said they didn't. >> have any. >> more vacancies for us, so. >> we had. >> to move over to the. >> comfort suites and. >> then that hotel decided to not participate in the voucher program any longer. >> they've lived in this hotel for the past month, but her voucher is set to expire on february 7th.

rid of fema. i think, frankly, fema is not good. >> he's talking about maybe getting rid of fema. fema is not good. obviously you disagree. what's your response? >> i think it's important to have a conversation about really understanding what fema does, right. fema is the agency that comes in, and one helps coordinate the entire federal family to help support the immediate response to these disasters. you know, when we see urban search and rescue teams come in, whether that's the fema teams that are made up of state and locals, or it's from the department of defense, whether it's from fish and wildlife, you know, we bring them in and we bring them in because we're sitting side by side with the state emergency managers, and they're telling us what their needs are, or we bring in the army corps of engineers to immediately start to stabilize the water system, which they did in north carolina. and so who is going to coordinate this federal family if you don't have fema? because they don't just show up

in fema is ready to rock. they haven't done the job because they were not really told to do the job by biden. i guess biden was thinking about other things, wasn't he? but they were not told. what the past administration did to north carolina is a disgrace. so, i just want to wish you all well. i was here right after the event and i couldn't believe it. i have never seen anything like it. i have seen a lot of bad things, but i have never seen anything like it. it is an honor to meet the people behind me. it is an honor to be with our congressional delegation and some of the other politicians in the area and it is an honor to have michael watley at my side. maybe we would not be standing here as president if he wasn't him and lara, lara trump were unbelievable as the head of the republican. he happens to come from a place called north carolina so i said, michael, fix it. [laughter] so, good luck. good luck, and we will supply what you need. you know that. thank you. thank you all very much. thank you very much.

he is talking now about getting rid of fema or making big changes at fema.s somebody who was involved in fema during the first trump administration. the interesting thing about this is that there are other fema administrators who say that, yeah, the agency does need to be reformed. and yeah, maybe states should take a bigger part, a bigger role in it. craig. fugate. fugate, fugate, fugate is one of those folks. can you explain to me? i mean, if you were to make changes at fema, what would you do? >> well, i think, katie, one of the first things is there's just a big misunderstanding of what fema's role is and what fema does. you know, when i listen to some of the comments from earlier today about we should just give the states money, that it's their job. well, that is what fema does, right? we reimburse states for the costs that they incur when a presidential disaster declaration has been given. and so if you don't have fema, how is that level of coordination going to be done? and the other big piece of what we do is we coordinate all of the federal family.

or maybe get rid of fema.ays room for improvement. but it needs to start with the conversation with governors and state directors on what they have troubles with. so we can hear from them to better understand how you would make changes. >> bret: i mean this executive order is a commission to study that, josh. but he's talking about maybe block granting to local and state governments instead of having federal officials go to areas they don't know and start a whole federal bureaucracy every time there is a disaster. >> yeah, bret, like any federal bureaucracy, fema has been unwieldy and inefficient and political scandals too about how it discriminated against trump homes and trump supporters, people who had trump signs in their homes. so there is a lot of scandal. there is a lot of controversy at fema, and federal government is very inefficient. i do think there is going to be a lot of resistance both in some of the communities and capitol hill to dramatically changing the role of fema man it would make sense to

fema has been down there. and what donald trump said is that he wants to now get rid of that federal agency. i want to play what he said and then talk to you on the other side. jeff. >> we're looking at the whole concept of fema. i like, frankly, the concept when north carolina gets hit, the governor takes care of it. when florida gets hit, the governor takes care of it, meaning the state takes care of it. they have a group of people come in from an area that don't even know where they're going. in order to solve immediately. a problem is something that never worked for me. i'd like to see the states take care of disasters. >> jeff well, well, look, the state's taking care of a disaster. >> that may be one thing, but states obviously cannot afford to take care of him themselves. but, dana. what? this is the bigger picture. here is just one more example of in the trump administration, the dismantling of government agencies. i mean, this has long been a discussion by many conservatives. it was in the very pages

what they've done with fema is so bad.is a whole other discussion because all it does is complicate everything. fema has not done their job for the last four years. i would rather see the states take care of their own problems. >> bret: what about that suggestion? i know you are thinking about a proposal to possibly restructure the way fema works. >> bret, listen, unfortunately fema is immersed in a terrible bureaucratic process. response and recovery is way too complex. 90 different recovery programs that local governments have to navigate their way through. they don't under established what they are entitled to and putting it together and use it in a manner to properly respond, recover and rebuild. i think what i would suggest to the president is put together a presidential commission to not only reform -- holistically reform fema but the entire profession of emergency management. the profession has been pi piec piecemealed together. there were several bills to revise fem yachlt it is like strapping new parts to a rusty

we have been doing battling with our insurance and fema. we did have proper insurance, flood insurance and homeowners insurance. since we had proper insurance fema hasn't been able to assist us with a whole lot of things and having issues with trying to get some payout for our insurance in a timely manner. and had to do mold mitigation on our home which is extremely expensive in order to get our payout. to me that wasn't acceptable. [indiscernible] >> not so much. -- [indiscernible] >> i'm hoping so. and we need assistance with that. we reached -- >> what is the name of our insurance company. >> north carolina farm bureau. that's what we are after here. [indiscernible conversation] >> in my case they sent out a third party adjuster and ended up firing. he gave us a quote for much higher estimate and then he got let go. got fired and brought in another third party adjuster to low ball us. the flood insurance is so there were leaks in the home but the adjusters and we lost some of our personal property and came in the second story living spac

walk us through what fema actually does. tom, fema basically. does the job of helping communities when they cannot handle things. >> themselves. >> when it's just too much. you mentioned a minute ago, katrina over here. katrina, in 2005 that cost $201 billion, according to federal agents. >> to deal with that. >> 160 billion. >> for. >> hurricane harvey back. in 2017. >> and now. an unknown. >> amount for the los angeles fires under the proposal. >> of donald. >> trump. >> the. >> red states of alabama and louisiana, for example, they would have had to pay that by themselves. there may be other ways around it, but. >> what has happened. >> in recent years and what has helped spur this, is the fact that spending, as we've had bigger disasters, more costly disasters, some of this may be from climate change. also, a lot of it has to do with many of these are hurricane disasters. and we have built and built and built for decades in coastal areas. so there's a lot more damage being. done by these storms. wolf. tom, let's talk a little bit about some

, or maybe getting rid of fema. i think, frankly, fema is not good. i think when you have a problem like this, i think you want to go. and whether it's a democrat or republican governor, you want to use your state to fix it and not waste time calling fema. >> let's get some perspective now from former fema administrator craig fugate. he runs craig fugate consulting. sir, thanks so much for being with us. obviously, trump has been critical of fema, suggesting he may get rid of the agency altogether. what would that mean for places impacted by disasters? >> well, you know, i've seen this before. after hurricane katrina, congress was going to abolish fema and reorganize it. um, prior to katrina. homeland security had actually taken fema apart, and it failed its mission. so i think, um, we've seen this before. the functions have to be done. how you do it is key. my recommendation is the president wants to reform fema is get his new fema administrator confirmed and give them direction to make those reforms. >> do you thi

we are not happy with fema.atives appear to have great representatives here. chuck edwards who is it someplace where is chuck? >> right here. >> thank you. virginia foxx, a power. she is a power. don't ever have her as your enemy. it is not good. pat harrigan. good job, pat. addison mcdowell. these guys were just here. they are doing a fantastic job. thank you very much. mark harris, thank you. brad, thank you. gregg murphy, fantastic guy, my friend for a long time now. and the rnc chairman michael whatley, who as i said brought us to a great victory with lara. the chairman of the party. the whole republican -- i took michael whatley from north carolina because he did the best job, and i put him in charge of everything. the job they did together was incredible. last september, hurricane helene became one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern american history. rainfall ran two -- lethal levels, unprecedented devastation throughout western north carolina and many other states, as you note. it's our responsi

fema hasn't done the job. and we are looking at the whole concept of fema. i like the concept when north carolina gets hit, the governor takes care of it. when florida gets hit, the governor takes care of it. meaning the state takes care of it. to have a group of people come in from an area that don't even know where they are going in order to solve immediately a problem is something that never worked for me. but this is probably one of the best examples of it not working. and there's been some others like in louisiana, etc. we are going to be doing something on fema that i think most people agree. i'd like to see the states take care of disasters. let the state take care of the tornadoes and the hurricanes and all of the other things that happen. and i think you are going to find it a lot less expensive. you'll do it for less than half. and are you going to get a lot quicker response. that seems to be the recommendation. we'll be making that recommendation over the next couple of weeks. we are going to go to

of fundamentally reforming and overhauling fema, or maybe getting rid of fema.hink, frankly, fema is not good. i think when you have a problem like this, i think you want to go. and whether it's a democrat or a republican governor, you want to use your state to fix it and not waste time calling fema. >> so, so many questions here with that statement. first of all, state and local agencies actually are the first line of defense in terms of helping citizens. if fema comes in after that fact and fema is still on the ground here, and there's no question there are critics on all sides of how fema has done its work in this broad devastation of hurricane helene, largely with housing vouchers and the like. but there are also true signs of need here. there was a woman who was holding up a sign as the president's motorcade went by that said, fema helped me. so people clearly are in need of help. and the president himself is, of course, busy at work trying to remake the entire federal government. and that's what this is all about. this was actually discussed in a project 2

rid of fema. i think, frankly, fema is not good. fema has been a very big disappointment. >> later today, the president heading to. >> the wildfire zone in california, where. >> governor newsom has. >> said that he'll be on the. >> tarmac to greet him on. >> arrival, even though he has not been. >> hearing from the white house about. >> the trip. >> immigration raids. >> put several. >> major cities. >> on. >> edge, as. >> a federal judge in seattle. >> put a. >> temporary hold. on the. president's attempt to. >> limit birthright citizenship. >> calling it blatantly unconstitutional. >> plus. >> defense secretary. >> nominee pete hegseth is. >> up for a final. confirmation vote tonight. >> no sign yet. >> that the opponents. >> can get. >> two more republican senators to vote. >> against him, which would. >> sink his nomination. >> and hamas. >> announcing the names. >> of the four. >> israeli women who will be released. >> from. >> gaza tomorrow. this is the. >> second group. >> as a tense cease.

fema is incompetently run. you should spend the money on schools rather than giving money to bureaucracy. it takes you so much longer -- >> i want to thank fema for helping our people. pres. trump: i am a builder. fema has a standard that is so slow they want permit on permit on permit and then they want permits on top of that. if you use fema, you will be here for a long time. i'm saying get the city and state to give you immediate 24 hour permits. these people that are going to build their own homes will get them built fast. how many of the people -- what are people going to do for financing? percentagewise how many people can build a home where they don't have to go out and get funding? some people will not be able to rebuild their home. they have a beautiful home but don't have cash. what are people looking to do in that case? you will have a big percentage -- what will they do? go ahead. >> without their help they will only get $43,000 from the federal government even if they have -- >> you did something w

, or maybe getting rid of fema. i think, frankly, fema is not good. >> with more and more climate change fueled natural disasters, like the deadly wildfires in california and the hurricane damage in north carolina. fema is having to respond to year-round catastrophes with limited resources and funding. the agency's disaster fund has actually run out of money ten times since 2001. last year, it was completely depleted even before hurricanes helene and milton ravaged florida and north carolina. but the president can't simply get rid of fema. that requires congressional approval. joining us now, the former administrator for fema, deanne criswell, thanks so much for being here with us. we really appreciate it. i know you've said that president trump's comments yesterday could have a chilling effect on emergency response. tell us more about that. >> hi. >> good afternoon jessica. >> you know. >> one of the things that i. just think is. really important. >> to continue to. >> have. >> a. >> conversation about is really un

frankly fema is not good. fema turned out to be a disaster. i think we are going to recommend fema go away. >> reporter: proposing the white house send relief directly to states and give more control to the governors. the president doesn't have the power to shut down fema and will need congress to give him the power to remake or get rid of any agency. fema makes the argument they support states and has a breath of expertise in how to respond most states do not have. >> i mean if there is one reason we are one nation under god it is to deal with disasters. no. we should not get rid of it. >> reporter: the president landing in l.a. to visit the wildfire zone there. after repeatedly attacking california's democratic leaders over the response to the disaster and hours after detailing a pair of demands before offering more federal aid to the state. >> i want to see two things in los angeles, voter id, and i want to see the water be released and come down in to los angeles and throughout the state. >> reporter: othe

fema messed that up, too.ld go, and i guarantee you he is going to take it apart. >> shannon: the people that train derailment in ohio were waiting for months and months and months. every time it sounds like the white house, the president biden today go. present trump even when he wasn't president has made a name for showing up for some of these places, in georgia, as welcome after helene while he was on the campaign trail, and hearing from those people today was really heartbreaking and it was powerful. >> harold: there is no doubt. good to be with you this afternoon. as i tried to share yesterday, president trump is a different kind of president. there is a lack of conventionality to him, a lack of orthodoxy to him that is really good, in some ways, and i think part of what he said today come i couldn't agree with more -- i don't know if i would get rid of fema but i interpreted him he wants to reform fema. when you think about it, the whole organization, fema, is organized around responding to something tha

why does he want to get rid of fema?dvantageous to get rid of fema. i think he has a base that thinks fema has failed. i think there are a lot of people in this country that are under the misunderstanding that this the federal emergency prevention agency, rather than management agency, you know, they think they expect fema is going to stop hurricanes and wildfires rather than basically being a funnel for the resources of the federal government to assist people in need. all of that said, the president may set up some sort of task force, some sort of commission to review it. he has already predetermined the outcome, as he said today, that he wants to get rid of fema. the question is, what comes up in its place, if anything? and it sounds from what he's saying, that he thinks the states should be on their own. so, for example, if a hurricane hits louisiana or western north carolina, it's up to north carolina or louisiana to do all of its emergency management to get people to safety, to start to rebuild all of the things tha

why does he want to get rid of fema?hinks it's politically advantageous to get rid of fema. i think he has a base that thinks fema has failed. i think there are a lot of people in this country that are under the misunderstanding that this is the federal emergency prevention agency, rather than management agency. you know, they they expect fema is going to stop hurricanes and wildfires rather than basically being a funnel for the resources of the federal government to assist people in need. all of that said, the president may set up some sort of task force, some sort of commission to review it. he has already predetermined the outcome, as he said today, that he wants to get rid of fema. the question is, what comes up in its place, if anything? and it sounds from what he's saying, that he thinks the states should be on their own. so, for example, if a hurricane hits louisiana or western north carolina, it's up to north carolina or louisiana to do all of its emergency management, to get people to safety, to start to rebuild

the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling fema or maybe getting rate of fema -- rid of femak when you have a problem like this, i think you want to go -- whether it is a democrat or republican governor, you want to use your state to fix it and not waste time. >> joining me now is our north america correspondent in california. gary, let's start with what we are expecting from the president once he does land in los angeles. >> we know he's going to be graded by the governor gavin newsom and they are not the best of friends. they have called one another names. they have clashed at various news over, the way the fires have been handled. the president blames him and other democrats for not putting out the fire sooner and specifically blames them for not diverting water from the north of the state down to metropolitan areas like l.a. and southern california. they say there is plenty of water, there was not a problem with that and are repeating -- competing concerns of water in this state over farming, environmentalism and urban development. he will get a tour of the palisades area

in relation to the first remarks _ fema lately. in relation to the first remarks but _ fema lately.ks but he said before he travelled to north carolina, already a big difference between donald trump and joe biden and how much donald trump is engaging with the media and giving so many time, his time overfor questions. and he has said that he is not very happy with fema, to be it's time to get rid of it. he mentioned putting in charge an individual called michael whatley, who is very close with, chairman of the republican party and is from north carolina himself and donald trump puts a lot of trusts in him, having run his campaign with 1538 00:16:31,261 --> 0

i mean, i don't know it, but there's got to be. >> fema told us. fema told us they're still here. know, if you have been affected by this storm and you haven't received aid to keep applying. but locals here say that this is really an issue where people are slipping through the cracks because of the slow machine of bureaucracy. and what's ultimately bad communication. >> jake meena duerson in boone, north carolina, thank you so much. they were pardoned by president trump earlier this week, but some of the january 6th rioters may not escape the law. after all, how? that's next. >> i've got good. >> news and. >> i've got bad news. what do you want first? the bad. the news is newsy. even more. >> than ever. >> what's the good news? >> we're doing another season of have i got news for. >> you. >> have i got news for you returns february 15th on cnn. >> greatness hurts, but sometimes you gotta put. >> on. >> your game face. >> that's why tylenol provides fast, effective pain relief. that's tylenol, that's care without limits. my moderate to severe crohn's symptoms kept me out of the pic

president trump touring disaster zones, signaling he's open to eliminating fema. and the israeli hostages held by hamas just hours away from being released. >>> first, four days after president trump signed his executive order, the trump administration now using military c-17s to airlift migrants out of the country. new images of migrants in restraints. and 1,500 u.s. troops begin their deployment to the southern border. more than 500 undocumented migrants arrested in multiple cities over the last 24 hours, including new york and boston. martha raddatz one on one with border czar tom holman, his blunt warning about what's to come. >>> president trump touring disaster areas in north carolina and california, meeting with hurricane and wildfire victims. governor gavin newsom, a frequent target of the president, greeting him on the tarmac. trump saying he's open to possibly getting rid of fema while threatening to withhold aid to millions in california. rachel scott in the fire zone. >>> the late-night confirmation vote for president trump's pick to run the defense de

president trump said this week on fox that a shakeup for fema is ahead. >> fema has not done their jobast four years. i had fema working really well. we had hurricanes in florida. we had alabama tornadoes, but, unless you have certain types of leadership it gets in the way. fema is going to be a whole big discussion shortly i would rather see the states take care of their own problems. >> conditioning aid is a controversial proposal. historically congress has passed supplemental disaster funding on a bipartisan basis. and biden's fema chief of staff warned that picking winners and losers would erode public trust in the federal government. but california's fires are going to be the most expensive disaster in american history. and president trump threatened to withhold help if the state doesn't amend its water and forest management policies. governor gavin newsom says he is going to meet trump on the tarmac this afternoon, when he heads there after his stop in north carolina. a lot of relationships in the trump world. a lot of relationships. of of trust. i communicate with a lot of the f

have fema totally eliminated. we won't have the ability to have those resources on a moment's notice. that's the key. >> navarro says that large states such as california and texas have robust emergency response networks, but it's the smaller states that could be hurt the most if trump eliminates fema. reporting from the newsroom jana katsuyama, ktvu, fox two news. >> president wasn't here long. he is on his way to nevada. will wake up there tomorrow in las vegas. he's expected to talk about his no tax on tips plan during a rally in las vegas. a survivor of the palisades fire was in san francisco today to say thank you to sf firefighters for saving his family home. the engine came from station 25, one of many from right here in the bay area that headed south to help handle the unprecedented wildfires. eugene kwok said that the fire crew from san francisco also saved valuables from the home of one of his neighbors, one of seven on the block that burned down. >> i guess, simply put, the fire engine and the four crew

probably less fema because fema just hasn't done the job. we're looking at the whole concept of fema. i like frankly the concept when north carolina gets hit, the governor takes care of it. when florida gets hit, the governor takes care of it. meaning the state takes care of it. to have a group of people coming from an area that don't know where they're going to solve immediately a problem is something that never worked for me this. is probably one of the best examples of it not working. there's been some others like in louisiana et cetera. so we're going to be doing something on fema that i think most people agree. i'd like to see the states take care of disasters. let the state take care of the tornadoes and the hurricanes and all of the other things that happened, and i think you'll find it a lot less expensive and do it for less than half, and you'll get a lot quicker response. that seems to be the recommendation, but we'll be making that recommendation over the next couple of weeks. we're going to go to the site now and figure out a pla

and fema has an enormous task.s, people need housing, they need help. they need money to sort of bridge the gap of the initial days. they need support to pay for temporary housing. they need sometimes hotel accommodations, food, all sorts of things. plus following through the kinds of aid that are available. it does, in fact, take a very large bureaucracy to handle all of that, to administer checks, support programs, to gather resources, things like when in these crises we see them pre-staged water and different types of food supplies and so forth in an area prior to an expected hurricane, for example. we see how that all works out. certainly the president is trying to remake how agencies respond. he's he's talking about the costs. those things are very in sort of the trump lane of how he approaches government. but this is a very striking assertion from the president that he wants to do that. we're in kind of real time, you know, testing my knowledge here, but i don't believe he can disband the federal emergency ma

, or maybe getting rid of fema.viously the president can't unilaterally get rid of fema. it's congressionally constituted. what do you think of that? i mean, look. it's hard to know what. >> to think of the president's visit today. i'm here back home in california. the fires have been completely devastating. i'm glad. >> that. >> the governor was able to greet him in a way that looks like there could be some partnership, but we shouldn't trust. donald trump. he has been. very clear. >> that he wants. >> to condition aid. >> mike johnson and the republicans in the. house have said. the exact same thing. >> and just hours before his visit, he's putting conditions on what he's going to essentially ask for from our state. >> and so. >> we shouldn't have conditions and absolutely we should not be doing is eliminating fema. this is an agency with incredible people, men and women, who have worked to rescue, literally rescue people's lives, their livelihoods and. >> help. >> people rebuild in emergencies. >> these are some

mark tamayo former presidential fema appointee says while rethinking fema disaster relief might be useful, eliminating fema would deprive states of important disaster response tools. >> so you could probably supplement california and replicate some of the things that fema does. but if you ask california first responders and the executive office of emergency management, they'll tell you that there are certain things that fema does that they don't have the capability to do to staff or fund on a 24 hour, seven basis. >> of the roads here in. >> president trump has vowed to sign an executive order to overhaul or abolish fema. crews continue to make progress on those fires in los angeles. the palisades fire is now 79% contained after burning 23,000 acres. the eden fire in altadena is 95% contained after burning 14,000 acres, and the hughes fire near castaic lake is 79% contained. after charring 10,000 acres. together, the fires have burned more than 50,000 acres since they began earlier this month. at least 28 people have died in the two largest fires. don't forget you can monitor our continui

order that could possibly eliminate fema altogether. in his words, quote, i think we're going to recommend that fema go away. look, if we want to talk about commonsense reforms to disaster reforms, that's one thing. but getting rid of fema entirely because of the hunger to shrink government at all costs is dangerous, very dangerous. that could leave families, business owners and local communities fending for themselves. president trump's proposal to get rid of fema has project 2025 written all over of it. project 2025 wants to privatize some of fema's programs including national flood insurance that vulnerable communities rely on desperately. project 2025 calls for the shrinking of the federal government's share of disaster aid and making the states and local taxpayers pay a far larger share. that's antithetical to how americans stuck together and looked after each other in times of disaster. why do we have a national fema? because americans pull together, not divided one another. and when an area had trouble, whether it's floods in nor

mark navarro, a former presidential fema appointee, says while rethinking fema disaster relief mightul, eliminating fema would deprive a number of states of important disaster response tools. >> so you could probably supplement california and replicate some of the things that fema does. but if you ask california first responders and the executive of emergency management, they'll tell you that there are certain things that fema does that they don't have the capability to do to staff or fund on a 24 hour, seven basis. >> of the roads here. >> and president trump has vowed to sign an executive order to overhaul or abolish fema. coming up in our 9:00 hour, we'll talk to former fema coordinator mark navarro about that decision right here in our studio. >> as some southern california residents make it back home after the devastating wildfires, some residents say they're thankful that they actually have a home to come back to. one resident traveled to the bay area to give a personal thank you to a san francisco fire crew and ktvu is. amber lee was there for that heartfelt meeting. >> when t

fundamentally reforming and overhauling fema, or maybe getting rid of fema. i think, frankly, fema is not good. i think when you have a problem like this, i think you want to go. and whether it's a democrat or a republican governor, you want to use your state to fix it and not waste time calling fema. >> president trump also laid out some of his demands for california before it receives federal aid. we'll have more on that in a moment, but let's get to cnn chief national affairs correspondent jeff zeleny, who is live on the ground in asheville, north carolina. for us, jeff, what more do we know about the president's visit there and what he's hoping to accomplish? >> well, boris. >> president trump is. >> clearly using. >> his first trip outside the white house on a coast to coast mission from here in north carolina. he'll end the day in las vegas, actually, before stopping in las vegas on both sides of the country, making clear that he wants to change how disasters are funded and managed in this country. of course, he before going to california, which is stil

fundamentally reforming and overhauling fema, or maybe getting rid of fema. i think, frankly, fema is not good. i think we're going to recommend that fema go away and we pay directly. we pay a percentage to the state, but the state should fix this. >> okay. >> so donald. >> trump. >> i just. go ahead. >> i know you are. you are correct. >> i just. >> can't even i can't even either because i was pulling up when fema was established. because first of all, fema stands for federal emergency management agency, okay. it is the agency that supports citizens and emergency personnel to build, sustain and improve the nation's capability to prepare for, protect against, and respond to, and recover from, and mitigate all hazards. okay. fema came into being in force post-katrina. given the devastation that the people of new orleans. >> and it was also and here's the critical little piece that the president probably doesn't get because he don't read, is the fact that fema's job is to why it was created on the heels of katrina, was the consolidation across agencies and acro

frankly fema is not good.fema turned out to be a disaster. i think we are going to recommend fema go away. >> reporter: proposing the white house send relief directly to states and give more control to the governors. the president doesn't have the power to shut down fema and will need congress to give him the power

fema is the federal emergency management agency. so that's the body here in the united states. whenever there's a big natural disaster, a hurricane, i know it's quake anything like that. they appear on the ground. they provide immediate relief to people that help with the clean up. they help try to get the infrastructure back up and running. and he is be very, very critical, a female he was hate. i'll tell you about during his presidential campaign and he came there and he looked at the damage and he said, fema was giving vice a money to on documented migrants. it was a total increase according to feed, but in fact, fema actually put up a website specifically to deep bunk. that's i'd say that is not true. but of course he said or you said it was because these areas west of north carolina, they supported them, best or fema, was ignoring these people. today he is just set that he's can see the rig abolishing feedback. now this is not something you, we look at his appointments, he's actually appointed temporarily a guy cool. cameron ha

of fundamentally reforming or overhauling fema or maybe get rid of fema. i think frankly fema is not good. i think we will recommend that fema go away. and we pay directly. >> laura: we see the picture now of trump in pacific pasades and continuing this tour. he is going to be meeting with firefighters and, again, we're going to stay on this. but that one visit during an insanely busy first week, to north carolina. would be enough for most presidents. it's all exhausting, especially after the break neck pace of this week. but not donald trump. he flew across the country to california, we see him touring to give residents there the same message you are not alone. this is a bombshell new piece was published in today's "l.a. times." thousands of pages of state, county and municipal records reviewed by the "times" show that the disaster was years in the making in california, red tape, repeatedly stymied plans for water system im3r506789s in malibu, topanga outside of the city of l.a. including some that specifically cited the need to boost fire fighting capaci

he sees this as an opportunity to improve fema. >> fema provides a response component and a recovery component. fema provides on the response side of a 24 hours seven days a week 365 response component, urban search and rescue teams, water rescue teams, they provide disaster, medical assistance teams, disaster mortuary assistance provisions for people. so they have a tremendous amount of resources available at a moments notice to go to a particular state to help them. so that's critical of when we are having a disaster. so my estimation, my hope would be analyzed this, take it as an opportunity, refined the response component to fema, but when we come to the recovery side, be much more flexible and support the states in their recovery by providing them money with oversight to let them manage the recovery and what they want their neighborhoods to look like when all is said and done. >> dismantling fema would need congressional approval. >>> in san francisco, officials have debunked a report that an ice agent confronted a middle school student on a bus. the mayor's office has confirmed

we know fema was in tennessee and buying up land. people are suffering. california has my heart but they are the richest of the rich. there are some poor out there and i feel for them. host: let's get you an answer on north carolina. first off, my heart goes out to you and everybody that has been affected by these natural disasters. i think you have reminded us that there is a real side to these disasters. people are suffering and hurting. and, when we move from one disaster to the next and sometimes it seems like we forget the previous disaster. i have had the opportunity to travel to places after these disasters and see the utter devastation. and i know that when that is happening, people who are affected do not care about the politics. they are trying to figure out from one day to the next day and what the future will hold. as far as investigations into the biden administration on the response to the hurricanes, i do not know if that will happen. that is not my committee of jurisdiction. i know that with republicans in host: mark in massachusetts, inde