(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has backed away from abolishing the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Washington Post reported on Friday, ahead of the president’s visit to flood-hit Texas.
No official action was being taken to wind down FEMA, and changes in the agency would probably amount to a “rebranding” that would emphasize state leaders’ roles in disaster response, the Washington Post reported, citing a senior White House official.
Reuters could not verify the report and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump, who has previously called for FEMA to be shut down, was set to visit Texas on Friday, after flash floods swept through parts of the Texas Hill Country and killed at least 120, with more than 160 people unaccounted for.
Trump has frequently said he wanted states to have primary responsibility for responding to disasters. However, when asked by a reporter on Sunday whether he still planned to phase out FEMA following the Texas floods, Trump responded that it was a topic “we can talk about later”.
“The president immediately delivered the dollars, Texas already has that money in their hands, and Governor [Greg] Abbott is the lead decision-maker when it comes to the Texas floods,” the White House official told the Washington Post.
“You should expect this structure, that has quietly taken place, to continue,” the official added, according to the newspaper.
Trump signed a disaster declaration for Texas on Sunday to unlock federal aid for those affected.
The Texas floods, the first major deadly disaster since Trump took office in January vowing to gut or abolish FEMA, were a stark reminder of the extent to which states lean on the agency during a crisis.
(Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Alex Richardson)
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