Hurricane Florence To Test FEMA, Trump Administration

President Trump holds a briefing on Hurricane Florence in the Oval Office on Tuesday with FEMA Administrator Brock Long and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielse

Zach Gibson / AFP/Getty Images

As Hurricane Florence makes landfall in the Carolinas, in Washington the focus is how the Trump administration will respond to the storm’s aftermath, and the inevitable property damage, power outages and potential loss of life.

The federal response is coordinated by FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The agency’s reputation suffered last year following its lagging response to Hurricane Maria. And while President Trump and FEMA officials insist they’re ready this time, there have already been missteps that have some believing the agency’s confidence may be misplaced.

Trump has tried to assure people in the Carolinas that the government is “totally prepared. We’re ready. We’re as ready as anybody has ever been.”