Twenty years ago this week, Hurricane Katrina ripped through our Gulf Coast, showing not only the fury of nature, but serious flaws in our federal disaster response system. The failure that followed—marked by FEMA’s slowness and disorganization—laid bare systemic neglect and inequities, the scars of which still run deep in Louisiana, Mississippi, and beyond.

Today, our federal disaster response system stands at another precarious juncture. President Donald Trump has yet to nominate a permanent FEMA administrator, leaving the agency in the hands of an acting official with no emergency management experience. The last time FEMA was led by someone with no emergency management experience was during Hurricane Katrina—and the results were catastrophic. This summer’s flooding in Central Texas was the first warning sign: Trump’s FEMA failed in responding to this major disaster, taking days to send in search-and-rescue teams and missing thousands of phone calls from survivors.

While FEMA languishes without qualified leadership, the Trump administration has drained the agency of nearly a third of its permanent workforce, stalled billions in critical grant funding, and imposed red tape that slows life-saving aid—like Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem requiring her personal approval whenever $100,000 needs to be spent. The administration has also halted the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program—which has had bipartisan support for years—and denied requests for other sources of hazard mitigation funding, which help communities reduce disaster risks before storms strike. Unconscionably, the Trump administration continues to withhold disaster recovery funding to places like North Carolina, which is still recovering following Hurricane Helene’s devastating impacts not even a year ago.

Perhaps most alarming, President Trump has repeatedly said that he wants to eliminate FEMA altogether and shift full responsibility for disaster response to the states, saying that if governors can’t handle it, “Maybe they shouldn’t be governor.” This is an inexplicable statement coming from a president who couldn’t manage natural disasters during his first term. But without FEMA, many states could see their budgets stretched to the breaking point, especially as climate change is making disasters more frequent and intense. Secretary Noem has claimed that the federal government would continue to assist states after it eliminates FEMA—but her words contradict her actions. She has already withheld disaster assistance and canceled grant programs that states have relied on for decades to prepare for disasters.

The Trump administration’s dismantling of FEMA is compounded by its extreme staffing and budget cuts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service, which have degraded climate and forecasting capabilities that millions of Americans rely on during disasters. This effectively leaves the country flying blind at the peak of hurricane season with one hand behind its back. This technological gap has put us in the most vulnerable position to face disasters going back decades.

Despite this administration’s rhetoric, most disasters are handled without federal help. But major catastrophes—like Hurricane Katrina and the flooding in Central Texas that occurred this July—have shown that when the unimaginable happens, no state can face it alone. FEMA functions as the cavalry, coming in to support communities in their time of need. And in every state, vulnerable communities—those most likely to be hit first and worst—often lack the resources to respond and rebuild. Now more than ever, we must defend and strengthen the federal safety net before the next disaster strikes.

This solemn anniversary is not just a time for remembrance of those we lost 20 years ago—it’s a call to action. We cannot watch history repeat itself by allowing FEMA to be weakened and stripped of its capacity to respond—just as it was in the years leading up to Katrina.

President Trump must call off plans to eliminate FEMA and put someone in charge who has real experience. His administration must restore hazard mitigation programs that break the cycle of destruction and costly recovery. It needs to halt the attacks on FEMA’s workforce and instead fully staff FEMA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Weather Service so that communities have the resources and information they need to prepare for and respond to disasters. He must also stop withholding disaster relief and ensure that every community is expeditiously receiving the full support of the federal government.

Finally, Republicans in charge of Congress should not stand by as the Trump administration dismantles FEMA. By choosing political loyalty over the safety of millions of Americans, these Republicans—many of whom have active disasters in their districts and states—ensure that future disasters will bring greater loss of life, longer recoveries, and deeper suffering. We must do more to hold the administration accountable for its reckless decisions and make sure the lessons of Katrina are never forgotten.

Congressman Bennie G. Thompson has represented Mississippi’s 2nd district in Congress since 1993 and has been lead Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee since 2005. He also previously chaired the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol and is also co-chair of the Congressional Disaster Equity and Building Resilience Caucus.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.