FEMA Has Canceled Its 4-Year Strategic Plan Ahead of Hurricane Season

Less than two weeks earlier nan commencement of hurricane season, nan caput of nan Federal Emergency Management Agency rescinded nan agency’s strategical plan, which includes a archive that guides agency priorities erstwhile responding to disasters, WIRED has learned. A caller scheme has yet to beryllium put into place.

In a memo sent to FEMA labor connected Wednesday, acting FEMA administrator David Richardson wrote, “The 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan is hereby rescinded. The Strategic Plan contains goals and objectives that carnivore nary relationship to FEMA accomplishing its mission. This summer, a caller 2026-2030 strategy will beryllium developed. The strategy will necktie straight to FEMA executing its Mission Essential Tasks.”

The four-year plan, which was issued successful 2022 nether then-administrator Deanne Criswell, is not a procedural scheme for circumstantial disasters, but alternatively a guiding archive for nan agency’s objectives and priorities. A link to nan plan connected FEMA’s website returned an correction connection connected Wednesday and has not been unrecorded since January 2025, according to nan Wayback Machine.

Multiple FEMA labor opportunity that they did not cognize of different clip erstwhile a strategical scheme had been rescinded without different successful place. “We are immense planners,” 1 worker said. “Things for illustration nan strategical scheme person large downstream effects, moreover if it’s not contiguous operationally.”

The scheme lists goals and objectives for nan agency: to “instill equity arsenic a instauration of emergency management,” to “lead full of organization successful ambiance resilience,” and to “promote and prolong a fresh FEMA and prepared nation.” Two FEMA employees, who said anonymously to WIRED because they had not been granted support to speak to nan press, expressed astonishment that nan archive had not been rescinded earlier owed to its accent connected equity.

For immoderate staff, rescinding this memo is simply a mini measurement successful nan large-scale battle connected nan past administration’s priorities. The strategical scheme is “primarily symbolic,” says 1 employee. “There are very existent changes that person been made that touch connected [equity and ambiance change] that are much important than nan archive itself.”

But others interest astir nan wide guidance of nan agency without these guiding principles.

“It’s our guiding star,” says different worker. “We usage this to determine agency priorities and pathways to execute them. Without it, we’re adrift. It’s clear that nan personification steering nan agency, Richardson, is present to return it apart, 1 portion astatine a time.”

“Under Secretary Noem and Acting Administrator Richardson, FEMA is shifting from bloated, DC-centric dormant weight to a lean, deployable disaster unit that empowers authorities actors to supply alleviation for their citizens. The aged processes are being replaced because they grounded Americans successful existent emergencies for decades. Complaints astir morale, training, and readying travel from nan aforesaid soul people that resisted accountability for decades,” says Geoff Harbaugh, nan subordinate administrator of External Affairs astatine FEMA. “This is conscionable different illustration of a agelong statement of soul leaks from group who intelligibly couldn’t attraction little astir Americans facing disaster and for illustration to manufacture petty play for their ain self-aggrandizement. Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, and nan efforts of Acting Administrator Richardson FEMA is afloat activated successful mentation for Hurricane Season.”