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Jan. 24 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump said Friday his administration is considering getting rid of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Trump made the comments while visiting Asheville, N.C., where he also confirmed Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley would head up restoration efforts in the flood-ravaged region. He then toured devastation from wildfires in Southern California.
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"I think we're going to recommend that FEMA go away," Trump told the crowd in Asheville.
"I like, frankly, the concept [that] 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're going, in order to solve immediately a problem is something that never worked for me."
Trump said FEMA has been bureaucratic and slow, and that state governments should manage the response with funding dispersed from the federal government,
Trump said that an executive order would "begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA - or maybe getting rid of FEMA." Trump would not have authority to close the agency without approval from Congress.
FEMA coordinates the federal government's response to disasters.
Trump visited the area on the North Carolina-Tennessee border to provide an update on disaster relief, following the devastation of Hurricane Helene last October, which killed more than 200 people across the several states.
The president and first lady Melania Trump visited Southern California later in the day to survey fire-damaged areas amid ongoing tensions with Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom greeted Trump on the tarmac when he departed Air Force One.
"Thank you first for being here. It means a great deal to all of us," Newsom told Trump. "We're going to need your support. We're going to need your help."
Trump took an aerial tour. They then met with local law enforcement and members of the community to tour destroyed Pacific Palisades neighborhoods.
"Not even believable," Trump told reporters on site.
Trump then had a roundtable with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, whom he has criticized for her response, and other state officials.
"I don't think you can realize how rough, how devastating it is until you see it," Trump said of the wildfire damage, which has killed at least 28 people, scorched 55,000 acres and destroyed 16,188 structures, according to Cal Fire. "The federal government is standing behind you, 100%."
Trump said that "we had a good talk, a very positive talk" with Newsom.
Trump said he will waive federal permits for rebuilding in the area. "I'm gonna be the president to help you fix it," he said. "We're going to waive all federal permits... Because a federal permit can take 10 years... we don't want to take 10 days."
Republicans have heaped criticism on Newsom, a possible 2028 presidential candidate, for the wildfires. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has suggested placing conditions on any federal disaster aid to the state.
But California Republicans, such as Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., said wildfire victims in his district should be treated like everyone else without the politics.
"[It's] the same argument I've been making with my colleagues," Kim said. "If this disaster hit your district, you would think differently and not talk about the conditions because look at my colleagues from North Carolina, look at my colleagues from other disaster areas like Louisiana and then here in Southern California."
Ahead of landing Friday in California, Trump also said he would demand state officials implement new voter laws to require two pieces of identification in exchange for federal aid to help combat and recover from wildfires that have displaced thousands.
The president also said the state must redirect water from Northern California to the southern part to ensure further federal help.
Newsom and Trump had not spoken to each other since he left office in 2020, but both have been critical of each other. Newsom's ex-wife Kimberly Guilfoyle had recently been in a long-term relationship with Trump's son, Donald Trump, Jr., which ended last year. The president has since nominated her as the U.S. ambassador to Greece.
Newsom has sought to downplay any personal conflict with Trump.
"[I have] a lot of relationships in the Trump world, a lot of relationships of trust," Newsom said. "I communicate with a lot of folks around him, folks that have his ear and influence.
"This is a sideshow a lot of this stuff, but I know it's the show that's probably the focus of a little bit too much [on Friday], when all I care about is what we can do together to move past this moment and start rowing in the same direction to get this region back on its feet."
