Sections of the roof were torn off the Trading Post Flea Market in Okeechobee during Hurricane Ian. [Photo by Richard Marion]

OKEECHOBEE- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis expressed confidence that Florida would be ok during the upcoming hurricane season, despite any planned cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

President Trump has said he wants to phase out the agency this December, following the 2025 hurricane season. Telling reporters in the Oval Office in June that governors should be able to handle it. And that the federal government would start distributing less federal aid for disaster recovery and that the funding will come directly from the president’s office.

“We want to wean off of FEMA, and we want to bring it down to the state level,” said President Trump. “A governor should be able to handle it, and frankly, if they can’t handle it, the aftermath, then maybe they shouldn’t be governor.”

Gov. DeSantis downplayed concerns about FEMA cuts in a press conference in May saying that the state of Florida prepares and responds to hurricanes assuming FEMA wouldn’t be there.

“I know the media is trying to make an issue of ‘FEMA this or that’”, said Gov. DeSantis. “Just know that, in Florida, our preparations and our immediate response always assumed FEMA wouldn’t be there for us.”

The governor said things you see in Florida after a storm, like the rapid power restoration, aren’t the result of FEMA, but from local providers taking it seriously.

Although Gov. DeSantis did admit that when it comes to other things such as individual reimbursements and debris cleanup reimbursements from FEMA, the state would have to “see what’s available”.

Last year FEMA announced $2,062,817 in grant funding to reimburse Okeechobee County for Hurricane Ian debris removal. 

The storm left extensive debris, resulting in a threat to public health and safety. Approximately 180,868 cubic yards of vegetative debris and 4,796 cubic yards of hurricane-generated debris were removed from roads and public property.

“There are existing programs for individual assistance and reimbursement of local governments,” said Gov. DeSantis. “And if that’s going to be devolved to the states, are you going to give us block grants where we’ll be able to manage that ourselves? Or are you going to say, ‘You guys just figure it out’?”