Ashley Shelton: The Senate Must Reject Mullin’s Nomination to Protect FEMA from Further Destruction
By Ashley Shelton
After a year of catastrophic mismanagement, mass firings, and dangerous politicization, the Federal Emergency Management Agency stands on the brink of collapse. Communities across America that depend on federal disaster assistance are watching as the Trump administration systematically dismantles the agency designed to protect them.
Now, with the nomination of Senator Markwayne Mullin to lead the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA, the Senate faces a critical choice: reject this nomination and demand independence for FEMA, or allow the agency to become another casualty of political games while American families pay the price.
The crisis at FEMA didn’t begin with Mullin’s nomination—it accelerated under Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s disastrous leadership. Since assuming her position last year, Noem slashed 20% of FEMA staff, leaving the agency woefully unprepared for the next emergency. And internal planning documents reveal the administration’s plan goes much further: possibly cutting more than 11,500 employees from FEMA’s workforce of approximately 23,000—a staggering 50% reduction that would gut the agency’s capacity to respond to disasters.
Meanwhile, a sweeping freeze on FEMA staff travel has prevented disaster response personnel from deploying to communities facing active wildfires and ongoing hurricane recovery, effectively abandoning Americans in their moment of greatest need.
Beyond the workforce cuts, Noem quietly dismantled critical programs that helped communities build resilience, train emergency managers, and plan for catastrophic events. These state resiliency programs representing proactive disaster preparedness are the kind of forward-thinking approach that saves lives and reduces recovery costs. Their elimination leaves communities more vulnerable than ever.
The alarm bells are ringing from every corner. Former FEMA officials and whistleblowers have publicly condemned Noem’s leadership as “catastrophic” and warned that her approach is “not a feasible way to protect the United States against disasters.” Many congressional leaders have raised urgent concerns that FEMA workforce cuts leave communities dangerously vulnerable during peak disaster season, with some lawmakers going as far as to demand Noem’s resignation well before the end of her tenure.
This is the agency Senator Mullin has been nominated to lead, and his record makes clear he will only accelerate its destruction.
Mullin’s hypocrisy on disaster assistance is particularly striking. He represents Oklahoma, a state that has received more federal disaster aid approvals than any other in the past two decades. His own constituents have relied on FEMA support to recover from devastating tornadoes and severe weather events that have become increasingly frequent and destructive as climate change intensifies. Yet in 2024, Mullin voted against critical FEMA funding, even as Oklahoma communities depended on the very federal assistance he sought to deny others. This dangerous political opportunism that puts lives at risk.
His nomination sends an unmistakable message: the administration views FEMA not as a critical public safety agency protecting Americans from disasters, but as another tool for political control and partisan warfare. This approach is catastrophic, particularly in this era of unprecedented climate-related disasters.
The logical response would be to strengthen FEMA’s capacity, increase its resources, and ensure professional, non-political leadership focused solely on saving lives and rebuilding communities. Instead, the Trump administration is doing the opposite and systematically weakening the agency while nominating a senator whose record demonstrates he will prioritize political loyalty over disaster preparedness and public safety.
Mullin’s confirmation would guarantee that FEMA remains trapped in the chaos that has defined the past year, unable to fulfill its mission while communities across America face mounting threats.
FEMA simply cannot protect Americans while remaining under political control at the Department of Homeland Security. The agency needs independence, stability, and leadership focused on disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.
The Senate has the power to prevent further damage by rejecting Mullin’s nomination and demanding that FEMA become an independent, cabinet-level agency removed from political manipulation.
Ashley K. Shelton is the Founder, President and CEO of the Power Coalition, a statewide 501c3 table in Louisiana. She is a Senior Fellow with Organizing Resilience bringing her disaster relief, recovery and resilience experience to inform a better way forward by centering those affected by disasters and focusing on a full recovery. Mrs. Shelton was the Vice President of Programs at the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF), where she managed their system of integrated programs to create a better Louisiana for all in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
