Hurricane season descends on Louisiana this year amidst a cloud of federal uncertainty. Despite fears over massive staffing cuts and the threatened dissolution of key agencies that help forecast hurricanes and support storm recovery, Gov. Jeff Landry doubled down Tuesday on his belief that Louisiana is prepared should a natural disaster strike.
Landry said he had spoken at length with U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose agency includes the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and didn’t anticipate any big changes – at least in the next few months.
“I do not believe that the president or the White House has any intention of revamping FEMA while hurricane season is in play,” Landry said at a news conference held at the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
“We are working closely with FEMA,” GOHSEP interim director Brig. Gen. Jason Mahfouz, said, adding that federal assistance “has been validated and pledged to us” in the case of a storm overwhelming the state’s ability to respond.
Uncertainty over FEMA’s ability to stand up a disaster response heightened Monday when the agency’s director, David Hutchinson, reportedly told staffers at a meeting that he was unaware the U.S. had a hurricane season. The White House said Tuesday that Hutchinson was joking.
In addition to FEMA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has also been the target of large staffing cuts since President Donald Trump returned to office. The National Weather Service and its National Hurricane Center are part of NOAA, a subagency of the Department of Commerce.
“I have not heard from anyone that those cuts are impacting the information that would flow up to the states,” Landry said.
The turmoil in Washington, D.C., comes as the 2025 hurricane season is “very likely going to be another active year in the Gulf of Mexico,” state climatologist Jay Grymes said, adding that he was confident “our tropical coverage this season will be more than adequate for what we require.”
As the storm season starts, neighboring states Arkansas and Mississippi have experienced delays and denials in getting federal emergency aid declarations from President Trump after being hit by tornadoes in recent months.
Still, the governor maintained his confidence in federal support should a storm hit, saying he believed the only change might be more “flexibility” with state control of disaster response should the need arise .
“The states have always maintained the first responsibility anyhow,” Landry said. “FEMA and the White House and our congressional delegation will ensure that Louisiana receives the resources it needs.”