WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) today called on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem to release the FEMA Review Council’s full, unaltered report. According to reports, Secretary Noem edited the report and recommendations down dramatically, eliminating roughly 140 pages of the Council’s work.
Senator Welch urged Secretary Noem to release the full report ahead of the Council’s final meeting last week. But, hours before the meeting was scheduled to begin, it was abruptly canceled.
“On December 11, 2025, two hours before it was set to begin, the White House cancelled the meeting of the Council to Assess the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which was set to vote on releasing its findings,” wrote the Senators. “On December 10, 2025, Senator Welch wrote you a letter urging you to release the Council’s complete findings, following reporting that you and your top advisor, Corey Lewandowski, had cut approximately 140 pages of the Council’s 160-page draft report assessing potential FEMA reforms. The Council’s draft report reflected nearly 13,000 public comments and a dozen meetings with communities across the country.”
The Senators concluded: “We again request that you release the Council’s complete report, including all conclusions and recommendations, by December 23, 2025, in order to inform productive bipartisan discussions about potential improvements to FEMA.”
Senator Welch introduced the Disaster Assistance Improvement and Decentralization (AID) Act on the anniversaries of Vermont’s catastrophic floods of July 2023 and 2024. Senator Welch’s bill will cut red tape and empower state and local governments to access recovery assistance when it is needed. The bill will support hazard mitigation efforts, make the delivery of disaster aid more efficient and effective, provide technical assistance to small towns and communities impacted by natural disasters, and block the White House from withholding funding for disaster response. In July, Senator Welch called for the resignation of Secretary Noem citing, in part, her mismanagement of FEMA.
Read and download the Senators’ full letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
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