Spectrum News: “A month later, it’s unclear when or if the report will actually come out.”
Whatley’s FEMA Failures Continue Piling Up
Recent reporting from Spectrum News is raising new questions about “when or if” the FEMA Review Council led by Michael Whatley will ever release their Final Report, which is already months overdue. Continuing to fail Western North Carolina, Whatley is the co-chair of the Final Report Subcommittee.
The delayed report has left state recovery officials “hamstrung” and “in a difficult spot.”
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Reuben Jones | January 8, 2026
- This comes as the Trump administration has delayed its report on whether to eliminate or shrink the agency.
- The watchdog said doubts about the agency’s future have left many state and local officials concerned.
- FEMA’s future has been uncertain ever since Trump created a review council to look at what to do with the agency, including possibly disbanding its current form.
- The council was expected to release its recommendations in December, but the report was delayed. A month later, it’s unclear when or if the report will actually come out. Spectrum News asked the White House and DHS, FEMA’s parent agency, when that report might be released but did not get an answer by deadline.
- “They don’t know what to prepare for. That’s the biggest concern I think states have right now,” Currie said.
- “No doubt there is a lot of frustration with FEMA,” Currie said. “People are very frustrated with the bureaucracy, the slowness of the monies, the grants, the back and forth, the fighting with FEMA on reconstruction projects.”
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