FEMA Is Paralyzed. Disaster-Torn Communities Are Paying the Price.

St. Louis’s tornado was months ago, but it’s still waiting for hundreds of millions in federal recovery funds to arrive. It’s part of Trump’s plan to shift responsibility to the states and shrink the agency.

Excerpt: St. Louis is a test case for the Trump administration’s new policy of shifting more responsibility for natural disasters to states and cities. City officials and local residents who are still clearing rubble from destroyed buildings four months after the tornado struck said the experiment isn’t going well. 

Many of FEMA’s core functions related to preparing for natural disasters and leading recovery efforts after they strike have ground to a halt as the Trump administration redefines the agency, according to more than a dozen FEMA employees and local officials, as well as a review of internal government documents.