A new White House executive order would put FEMA in charge of Los Angeles wildfire reconstruction efforts

['Daniel Jonas Roche', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Vertical-Align Middle .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar Is .Alignleft .Alignright'] The Architect’s Newspaper 2026-01-29 21:43:46

It wasn’t long ago President Trump said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) should be eliminated. FEMA’s funding was slashed by almost $650 million in the FY26 budget, and the White House stopped $11 billion in disaster payments to states. A new executive order (EO) from the White House indicates however that Trump has found a new purpose for the agency. On January 27, Trump issued an EO outlining the role FEMA could play in rebuilding California’s fire-torn neighborhoods. In 2003, President Bush’s Homeland Security Act created the DHS, which brought FEMA and 20 other organizations into its purview, including ICE.