Kristi Noem treated FEMA as an adversary. Then came a massive winter storm

By Gabe Cohen, CNN

(CNN) — When Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem strode into the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters last week, ahead of a monster winter storm that walloped much of the country, she caught staffers buzzing around the agency’s response center off guard.

“I was shocked she showed up after all the sh*t we’ve been put through and what she’s said,” one FEMA official told CNN, adding that you could hear a pin drop in the center that day.

For the past year, Noem has been one of FEMA’s loudest critics, calling the disaster response agency partisan, bloated and broken; vowing to “clean house”; and even threatening to eliminate it altogether. FEMA insiders say her reforms and rhetoric have tanked morale and driven out thousands of disaster workers, including dozens of experienced senior leaders.

But on this day, she sounded more like a coach before a big game, rallying the staff to “lean forward” and help Americans weather the storm with a robust federal response, three sources with firsthand knowledge told CNN.

For many inside FEMA, it was a jaw-dropping about-face from the combative and adversarial Noem they’ve come to know during President Donald Trump’s second term. It was also her first in-person briefing at FEMA since taking over the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the agency, according to several high-ranking FEMA officials.

A week later, Noem is facing another moment with calls for her ouster over her handling of the department’s other major mission – immigration – and a possible bomb cyclone threatening the East Coast. So far, White House sources say Noem’s job is not at risk despite frustration over her handling of the crackdown in Minneapolis, Democrats seeking her impeachment and some Republicans saying they have lost confidence in her leadership.

FEMA’s storm response was quickly overshadowed Saturday when immigration enforcement officers shot and killed a protester in Minneapolis. Noem and her team, already gathered at FEMA headquarters, pivoted to address both calamities at a press conference with the disaster agency’s logo displayed prominently behind her.

Noem began by defending the officers and blaming Democrats in Minnesota, labeling the protester Alex Pretti a domestic terrorist and claiming he intended to harm law enforcement — allegations contradicted by bystander videos from the scene.

She also spoke about the impending winter storm. But with the brunt of the impact still hours away, the shooting drew a barrage of questions from reporters, which appeared to frustrate Noem, who asked if anyone had questions about FEMA and its plans.

Noem’s efforts to shine a spotlight on FEMA’s role were familiar in a way. Current and former agency officials say they have seen past administrations capitalize on their response to life-threatening hurricanes, wildfires and tornadoes to earn positive headlines and build goodwill.

“They look to be able to say, here is part of the power of the federal government, and we’re able to deliver,” a senior FEMA official told CNN.

In this case, many FEMA insiders were heartened by Noem and her team’s sudden show of support but aren’t convinced the heavy-handed overhaul and downsizing are over. “I doubt that this is permanent. I hope it is, but I doubt it,” a high-ranking official said.

When asked about Noem’s apparent turnabout on FEMA, DHS pointed to a press release outlining the federal storm response.

“Over the last year, this administration has transformed FEMA into a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers and supports state and local governments,” Noem said in the release. “Through every stage of this winter storm, the new FEMA delivered results to American communities.”

The White House emphasized in a statement that FEMA’s role should be “supplemental and appropriate to the scale of the disaster.”

“While Federal assistance was always intended to supplement state actions, not replace those actions, FEMA’s outsized role created a bloated bureaucracy that disincentivized state investment in their own resilience,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement.

Noem hunkers down

As Noem made her way through the building last week, shaking hands, the impact of her sweeping changes at FEMA – many months in the making – was impossible to ignore. Across the room, a handful of staffers whose employment contracts were expiring that very day were quietly escorted out.

Since January, the Trump administration has been terminating nearly every FEMA worker whose contract ends — about 300 so far — fueling new concerns about diminishing disaster response capabilities. But just hours after Noem’s visit last Thursday, an email went out across the agency: The dismissals were paused, at least for now. Some recently let-go staffers were even called back, multiple sources said.

Before the first snowflake fell, DHS directed FEMA to activate its National Response Coordination Center in DC and pre-position teams, generators and hundreds of thousands of meals and water bottles in states bracing for the storm. Search and rescue crews were on standby, ready to roll.

“It was a bit confusing,” the senior FEMA official said. “Winter storms rarely require this level of national coordination.”

Typically, winter storms don’t trigger such an urgent FEMA response, several longtime agency officials told CNN. Plus, Noem and Trump have repeatedly pledged to shift disaster responsibilities to states and local governments, leaving FEMA on the sidelines. Just last summer, when deadly floods hit Texas, FEMA’s response was delayed by spending restrictions Noem had put in place.

“It seemed like she was trying to cut us out of the response completely in Texas, and we were begging to respond,” said the high-ranking official who spoke to CNN. “So, this was a 180.”

This time, sources say Noem promised there’d be no red tape and that DHS and the White House were ready to move fast, with FEMA front and center.

The immigration debate was never far from minds as DHS directed FEMA staff to avoid using the word “ice” in public messages and social media posts, warning that phrases like “watch out for ice in the street” could quickly turn into internet fodder or memes given the ongoing operations by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement – also known as “ICE.” Staff were told to say “freezing rain” instead.

But Noem seemed hyper-focused on storm response. Inside FEMA headquarters, she sat at the head of a vast conference table — a seat usually reserved for the FEMA administrator, a role that’s been held in an acting capacity by three different Homeland Security officials over the past year.

She brought her team from DHS, including Corey Lewandowski, the longtime Trump ally now serving as her de facto chief of staff. They demanded hourly updates on power outages and snow and ice totals – even though the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration typically calculates those accumulations every six hours or so.

More than 100 FEMA workers were housed in a hotel near headquarters to ensure around-the-clock staffing, with meals and snacks provided to keep the team fed. Noem brought her dog, who roamed the halls of the response center.

And while Noem commuted daily, DHS directed FEMA to deliver a generator to Noem’s home in Washington, DC, citing the need for “continuity” in case of power outages, three sources with knowledge of the request told CNN.

One official compared the response to what’s typically reserved for a Category 3 hurricane or worse.

“It was all a bit distracting and exhausting, and it felt out of touch after the past year,” another high-ranking official said. “But it’s good they were engaged and want us to be ready, which we appreciate.”

As the storm raged, Noem and DHS quickly moved to distribute more than $2 billion of backlogged public assistance to more than a dozen states in its path. Noem’s strict policies, including a requirement that she sign off on all spending over $100,000, has left more than $15 billion in funding stuck at FEMA, with states unsure when — or if — the money will be released.

Some in the administration have privately warned that the funding backlog is becoming a political liability. Republican lawmakers, state leaders, and even Trump officials have voiced frustrations, especially since some budget-strapped red states are more disaster prone and often rely more on FEMA aid and resources than blue states.

Last fall, Republican Sens. Ted Budd and Thom Tillis of North Carolina were so fed up with the funding delays that they blocked DHS nominees. Eventually, Noem announced hundreds of millions of dollars would soon flow to their state, though that was only a portion of what has been pledged for Hurricane Helene recovery.

‘You’ve done incredible work’

Inside FEMA headquarters, Homeland Security leaders pressed staff to stay in close contact with the affected states — especially the hardest hit ones, including Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee — to ensure every need was met, sources told CNN.

Even as the states scaled back their own emergency operations at the end of the weekend, the administration ordered FEMA to maintain its overnight shifts, the sources added.

On Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt proudly announced President Trump had approved federal emergency declarations for 12 states within 24 hours. The orders should unlock hundreds of millions in aid, though the money still faces Noem’s strict oversight before reaching the states.

“Meanwhile all year, we’ve had states begging for assistance, begging for declarations, and they don’t get responses for months,” another FEMA official said.

As the last of the snow and sleet fell and communities dug out in the cold, Noem’s praise for FEMA continued.

“You’ve done incredible work,” she told the staff at headquarters. “You’re sacrificing to be here and to serve the people of the country. So I want you to know I’m grateful. Thank you for what you do and for providing that kind of assurance to the country — that you’re here and you’re going to answer any questions and give people the resources that they need.”

Noem told them she would keep advocating for FEMA without addressing the ongoing overhaul or whether staff cuts would resume, according to sources who were in the room.

“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing,” one of the sources told CNN. “This feels like some bizarre, upside-down world.”

The Trump administration’s long-term plan for FEMA remains uncertain.

The agency is still awaiting a final list of recommendations from the task force Trump assembled to help him overhaul the agency. Earlier drafts of its report call for slashing the workforce in half and dramatically reshaping disaster assistance and grant funding, with state and local governments picking up the slack.

Last week, the White House extended the task force for another two months after abruptly canceling their final meeting in December.

FEMA officials who spoke to CNN said they hope Noem’s posture in recent days means she believes the nation still needs a FEMA.

“When they were in complete crisis, they turned to FEMA to come save their asses,” one of the high-ranking officials said. “And FEMA rose to the occasion.”

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