A review council appointed by President Donald Trump has released long-awaited recommendations to overhaul the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA — the US federal body responsible for coordinating disaster response and recovery), proposing to shift far greater responsibility for disaster preparedness and relief onto individual states, tribes, and territories. Key proposals include giving states direct payments within 30 days of a disaster rather than reimbursing them after the fact, limiting survivor housing assistance to a one-time payment for those whose homes are uninhabitable, and replacing the current formula for triggering federal disaster support with a new set of predefined metrics. While there is broad agreement that FEMA requires reform to cut bureaucracy and speed up aid delivery, disaster experts warn that some state and local governments may struggle to fill the gaps left by a reduced federal role, and most of the proposed changes would require an act of Congress to take effect.