Southwest Floridians look to the skies as hurricane season 2025 dawns. (Art: AI/MS Co-Pilot)
June 3, 2025 by David Silverberg
June 4 clarification: An earlier version of this story indicated that former Florida emergency manager Bryan Koon was commenting on Florida's hurricane preparations. He was not.
As its geographic position on the Gulf of Mexico dictates, Southwest Florida is always potentially in the bullseye for hurricanes and tropical storms.
That makes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) the two most important federal agencies affecting the region. NOAA and its weather prediction offices, including the National Hurricane Center, tells people what’s coming and where it’s likely to happen. FEMA helps with the recovery and clean up.
But this year both agencies have been dealt heavy blows by President Donald Trump and advisor Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
It’s questionable whether these agencies will be able to effectively serve Southwest Florida and the rest of the nation this year or any year in the future. In particular it’s uncertain whether FEMA will even remain in existence. Both have had their funding and personnel severely slashed by DOGE.
Given the importance of these agencies to Southwest Florida, voters might obviously ask what their members of Congress have been doing to protect and ensure that the agencies have the resources to help them when the time comes.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), for his part, said during a press conference at the US Coast Guard Air Station in Clearwater on Wednesday, May 28 that he would personally do “everything I can to make sure” that FEMA is fully funded.
“What’s frustrating is that part of it is funded in advance and part of it is funded afterwards. And sometimes it’s political getting it done afterwards,” he pointed out, referring to the recovery phase. Nonetheless, “I believe it will get funded. I’m going to work hard to make sure that it is.”
Florida’s other senator, Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.), merely posted a hurricane checklist on X but has not otherwise weighed in on NOAA, FEMA or the 2025 storm season.
But what about the House members representing the Southwest Florida region? What have they been doing?
Steube and the 17th Congressional District
A graphic posted by Rep. Greg Steube calling for a name change for the Washington Metro. (Illustration: Office of Rep. Greg Steube)
On May 29, the eve of hurricane season, Rep. Greg Steube (R-17-Fla.) focused his efforts on spectacularly introducing House Resolution (HR) 3660 to re-name the Washington, DC subway system—commonly known as the Metro or Metrorail—to “the Trump Train.”
Steube’s district has no connection whatsoever to the Washington, DC Metrorail—although he himself may take it when in Washington. His district covers Sarasota and Charlotte counties and a sliver of Lee County. Its main cities are Sarasota, Venice and Punta Gorda. In the past, all have been ravaged by hurricanes.
But HR 3660 has nothing to do with hurricanes, response, resilience, the people in Steube’s district or Southwest Florida. It appears to be pure political theater, designed to please Trump.
As part of his bill, he also wants the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), which runs the Metro, to change its name to the Washington Metropolitan Authority for Greater Access (WMAGA).
To force WMATA to do this, he proposes withholding all federal funds until the name change is made.
“All Aboard the TRUMP TRAIN!” he posted on X. “WMATA takes $150M a year in federal funds and delivers nothing but delays, dysfunction, and decay. My bill blocks funding until WMATA is renamed WMAGA and the Metrorail becomes the TRUMP TRAIN.”
(In his initial post WMAGA stood for “Make Autorail Great Again.” However, “autorail” refers to an obsolete means of remotely controlling steam engines and also seemed confused with the Amtrak “Autotrain,” which runs between Virginia and Florida. While a reference to ancient steam-powered trains would seem to be in character with MAGA nostalgia for the past, its archaism presumably led him to change the title.)
“But this isn’t just about branding,” he argued in his X posting. “It’s about accountability. WMATA’s reputation has been wrecked after years of mismanagement, breakdowns, and public distrust. Americans have demanded that Congress cut waste and improve efficiency. This bill answers that call.”
That was not the only bill Steube introduced on May 29. He also introduced HR 3659, a bill to “direct Federal departments and agencies to verify eligibility for Federal benefits for individuals 105 years of age or older, and for other purposes.” This is based on allegations—almost entirely refuted—that Social Security and other federal programs pay benefits to ineligible or deceased recipients.
This too had no relationship to hurricane season, preparedness, NOAA or FEMA.
Steube did sponsor one piece of legislation relevant to his district and the hurricane season, the Tax Relief for Victims of Crimes, Scams, and Disasters Act (HR 3469), which he introduced on May 15. As the name states, this allows people who have been victims of scams, robberies, storms and fires in the past year a deduction on the value of their lost items, i.e., they won’t have to pay any tax on them if the bill is signed into law. This same bill was filed in the Senate by Sens. Moody, Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.). Steube’s bill was cosponsored by three Democrats and four Republicans, among them Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-26-Fla.).
But otherwise, Steube certainly did nothing to support NOAA, FEMA or prepare for hurricane season. Indeed, on the day hurricane season began, he posted on X: “We in Congress need to pass the DOGE cuts and codify Trump’s [executive orders] immediately. The American people are tired of empty promises. We need to be cutting trillions, not billions, so we can finally put America back on track towards a balanced budget.”
Donalds and the 19th Congressional District
Reps. Byron Donalds and Jared Moskowitz together during a 2023 field trip. (Photo: Office of Rep. Jared Moskowitz)
On March 24, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-23-Fla.), whose district covers the Miami area, introduced the FEMA Independence Act (HR 2308).
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-19-Fla.), who represents the coastal area from Cape Coral to Marco Island, joined him as Republican cosponsor of the bill, making it bipartisan.
Moskowitz, who was Florida’s director of emergency management from 2019 to 2021, argued that FEMA, which was an independent agency before the creation of DHS in 2003, should be independent again and elevated to Cabinet status.
“By removing FEMA from the Department of Homeland Security and restoring its status as an independent, Cabinet-level agency, my bipartisan bill will help cut red tape, improve government efficiency, and save lives,” Moskowitz argued in a statement.
Donalds agreed: “FEMA has become overly-bureaucratic, overly-politicized, overly-inefficient, and substantial change is needed to best serve the American people,” he stated. “When disaster strikes, quick and effective action must be the standard––not the exception. It is imperative that FEMA is removed from the bureaucratic labyrinth of DHS and instead is designated to report directly to the President of the United States. I am proud to join Congressman Moskowitz in this innovative initiative to ensure the most efficient disaster relief response for the American people.”
So far their bill has been referred to three House committees, where it awaits consideration.
Diaz-Balart and the 26th Congressional District
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart surveys the damage from Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas in 2019. (Photo: Office of Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart)
Although it is inland from both coasts, the 26th Congressional District stretches from Collier County east of Route 75 to the western suburbs of Miami. Chief towns include Immokalee, Doral and Hialeah.
Towns in the district have been hit by hurricanes in the past, most notably Hurricane Andrew in 1992. More recently they felt the effects of Hurricane Irma in 2017.
With the arrival of hurricane season, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart issued guides for hurricane preparation on his website and social media, which are largely standard for members of Congress: they consist of links to relevant sites, lists of items for hurricane kits, exhortations to make plans and protect homes and how to respond when a storm strikes.
However, Diaz-Balart has been notably silent on NOAA and FEMA and has issued no statements or introduced any legislation this year related to hurricane preparedness or resilience.
Analysis: On our own
Both NOAA and FEMA have suffered heavy blows to their capabilities. There have been large-scale staff reductions, research grant cancellations, travel and training restrictions.
Experienced NOAA experts have lost their jobs, field offices are understaffed and much data gathering has been curtailed, for example reducing the number of weather balloon launched to collect atmospheric data. This has reduced the information going into weather models like the kinds that predict hurricane cones.
Still, the National Hurricane Center in Miami says it has been spared personnel cuts and the heads of the NOAA, the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center all assured a reporter from the Associated Press that the agencies are ready for the season.
FEMA, though, has taken the brunt of the beating. It has lost around 2,000 personnel to DOGE cuts. Its continued existence is being called into question by Trump, who leveled false accusations and lies against it during the 2024 presidential campaign.
Trump’s contempt for the agency is reflected in the new director, David Richardson, a Marine Corps veteran with no emergency management experience, who upon taking office immediately bullied and threatened the staff, warning, “I will run right over you” if they got in his way—but who then also revealed that he was unaware there is a hurricane season.
From its founding during the administration of President Jimmy Carter in 1979, FEMA has had severe ups and downs. Its administrator under President Ronald Reagan was a pistol-packing former US Army colonel named Louis “Jeff” Guiffrida, who ran FEMA much the way Richardson appears intent on running it today. Guiffrida focused mainly on civil defense and what is known as “continuity of government” in the event of a disaster—and the disaster he chiefly had in mind was a nuclear war with the Soviet Union rather than hurricanes, tornadoes or wildfires affecting everyday citizens.
Guiffrida was forced out of the agency in 1985 after a congressional investigation alleged he had misused and mismanaged government funds. After he left FEMA he became a security consultant to perennial presidential candidate and extreme conspiracy theorist, Lyndon LaRouche, which gives some indication of his political leanings.
After a long and painful debate, FEMA became part of DHS in 2003, a move vehemently opposed by John Lee Witt, who had capably served as President Bill Clinton’s FEMA director from 1993 to 2001. However, the argument that FEMA could call on all the resources of the newly created DHS, including such agencies as the US Coast Guard, overrode the skepticism.
FEMA had further ups and downs, failing most spectacularly under director Michael Brown who was blamed for his inability to handle the ravages of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
FEMA’s rebuilding after Katrina was largely due to the work of some notable Floridians who learned lessons from their disaster-prone state. R. David Paulison was the Miami fire chief who took over immediately after Katrina and restored competence and confidence to the agency. He was followed in 2009 by W. Craig Fugate, Florida’s emergency manager and widely regarded as the best professional in the business.
Since then FEMA largely functioned well and responsively—until now. Even if it is split off as a separate Cabinet-level agency as Moskowitz and Donalds propose, that would not necessarily boost its effectiveness given Trump’s disdain and contempt for it and his reflected attitudes in the rest of the regime. What is worse is that Trump appears inclined to use disaster aid as a political weapon and loyalty reward rather than equitably providing assistance to afflicted Americans after a disaster. Any director he appoints will no doubt go along with that program.
The omens for the 2025 hurricane season appear inauspicious given the loss of NOAA predictive capabilities and the extreme disruption and uncertainty afflicting FEMA.
Bryan Koon, a former director of Florida’s emergency management division and a long-time corporate emergency management director, is wary: “Given the reduction in staffing, being unable to do trainings, participate in conferences, there’s potential that the federal government’s ability is diminished,” he observed.
Kevin Guthrie, Florida’s current director of the Division of Emergency Management tried to reassure Floridians that the state can handle any contingencies during a May 30 press conference in Fort Lauderdale. He and Gov. Ron DeSantis are pushing the federal government to make more of its aid available in block grants that states can use at their discretion.
“We are already having these conversations about if the federal government allows us to run an individual assistance program, we’re ready to get that done,” he said. “We believe we can do it just as fast, if not faster than the federal government.”
This hurricane season will put Guthrie’s thesis to the test and demonstrate whether Florida can handle its disasters alone as its officials say it can.
Given Southwest Florida’s vulnerability, it would be comforting if its representatives in Congress joined the effort to protect and fund NOAA and FEMA and looked out for their constituents, who are sitting in the hurricane crosshairs. Instead, judging by their votes for the “Big Beautiful Bill,” they’re committed to slashing budgets and completing the destruction that Elon Musk began, as Steube has stated outright.
Floridians, especially in the Southwest, know the drill when it comes to hurricanes. Have your food, water and batteries ready. Make a plan. Photograph your home’s contents. Experts say that you should be able to survive and hopefully thrive for at least three days, but ideally for seven.
It’s wise advice, especially this year. There’s no telling if anyone will be coming to the rescue when the clouds clear. The folks in charge want you to be on your own—and you are.
Be ready in every way. It’s going to be a very long, dangerous and uncertain hurricane season.
Liberty lives in light
© 2025 by David Silverberg