The Trump administration appears to be changing its stance on FEMA, an agency it has previously threatened to shut down.
President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem both indicated in the past that they sought to eliminate FEMA.
More than 2,000 FEMA employees have left their jobs or been fired since January as part of the administration's efforts to downsize the federal government.
But following flash floods in Texas that killed more than 120 people, the president praised the agency's work.
"FEMA has been headed by some very good people. We have some good people running FEMA. It's about time, right?" President Trump said.
And Secretary Noem, whose department oversees FEMA, has backed away from a push to eliminate the agency.
"We can end up putting this agency in the best place and position possible to be reformed and remade," Noem said.
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FEMA, which was established in 1979, coordinates the government's response to natural disasters and emergencies, and works with state and local agencies on relief and recovery efforts.
The president has suggested states should take the lead on disaster response and assembled a council to assess that and other potential changes.
"Historically, over time, states have found it very, very difficult in the aftermath of major disasters to handle those big ticket items of rebuilding roads and bridges, getting people back into housing," said history professor Andrew Morris.
Morris has studied natural disaster response and says FEMA could see reforms — but major changes could result in pushback.
"It's certainly possible to envision a FEMA that does push certain programs back down to the states. I find it unlikely though, that there's going to be a lot of appetite in Congress or at the state level for a wholesale return of these functions to the states," Morris said.
