Savannah mayor sounds alarm over Donald Trump’s plan to phase out FEMA

Uncertainty over the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s future is stoking anxiety just 19 days into hurricane season. President Donald Trump said last week that he intends to eliminate the agency that coordinates disaster relief following natural disasters. FEMA’s top response coordinator, Jeremy Greenberg, has since resigned.

On Tuesday, the leader of an often-storm-threatened Georgia city — Savannah Mayor Van Johnson — bemoaned the president’s push to axe FEMA. He referenced Hurricane Helene and other devastating storms that have raked the state in recent years.

Asking state governments to take on responsibilities currently tasked to FEMA is a dangerous risk, Johnson said. He pointed to Hurricane Katrina’s wipeout of New Orleans in 2005 and questioned whether the state of Louisiana would have been able to respond to save lives.

“There are some roles for state government and some roles for the federal government,” Johnson said. “This is one where clearly the federal government needs to be engaged.”

Credit: AJC file photo

Credit: AJC file photo

Hurricane forecasters with the National Weather Service are calling for above-normal storm activity in 2025, with 13 to 19 named storms and 6 to 10 major hurricanes. Hurricane season lasts through Nov. 30.

The Savannah mayor has never been reluctant to share his opinion. He has been particularly aggressive in pushing back against Republicans recently. This week also he fired off a commentary in the AJC responding to Attorney General Chris Carr’s accusations that Savannah had become “soft on crime” under Johnson’s leadership by passing a new gun ordinance, an allegation the mayor said “reeks of politics.”

“The attorney general should assist local governments in making Georgia’s communities safer — not to grandstand at their expense,” Johnson wrote.

Johnson, who is term-limited and must leave office in 2027, is frequently mentioned by Democrats as a potential statewide candidate for office in 2026 or for the open seat in the 1st Congressional District. Speaking out forcefully against the Trump administration again will only add to the thinking.

Things to know

Good morning! Here are three things to know today:

Book it

Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC

Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is writing a memoir and the timing is worth noting.

Bottoms announced yesterday that “The Rough Side of the Mountain,” will be published by the Harper Collins imprint Mariner Books in April of 2026.

That’s about a month before the Georgia primary election, when Bottoms will be on the ballot as a Democratic candidate for governor.

Bottoms didn’t mention politics in her announcement. “Through laughter and tears, I pray that I have fully captured and honored the love and sacrifice given by the long line of resilient and faith filled people who made my life possible.”

Are electricity prices the new eggs?

Credit: Special to the AJC

Credit: Special to the AJC

Keisha Sean Waites and Peter Hubbard are headed to a runoff in the District 3 Democratic primary for the Public Service Commission, set for July 15.

So what will be on Democratic voters’ minds when they go back to the polls? The AJC’s Gray Mollencamp spoke with retired Georgia Tech professor William Wepfer, 72, as he voted at Briarlake Church. Wepfer said the PSC has been “out of control.”

“You know how the price of eggs impacted the election in November? It’s now the price of electricity,” said Wepfer, an Atlanta resident. Wepfer said he voted for a Democratic candidate but did not disclose which one.

“We seem to be recruiting data centers to the state by the hordes and there doesn’t seem to be the appropriate set of trade-offs with environmental impacts and the need for power,” he said. “It just seems to be the blind leading the blind.”

Border over barracks

Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Jamie Dupree, the AJC’s Washington columnist, writes this week about congressional heartburn over the Trump administration’s move to redirect $1 billion slated for military housing to go toward border security and immigration enforcement.

Senators on Capitol Hill this week, including Georgia’s U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, took Army officials to task over shortchanging troop housing.

“If service members can’t live, eat, train and work in safe, healthy, world-class facilities, our readiness is undermined, and so is morale,” Ossoff said at a hearing.

But the military brass seemed unmoved. “You have to make choices,” the Army’s chief of staff, Gen. Randy George, told lawmakers.

Another TikTok reprieve

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

President Donald Trump issued another 90-day delay of the TikTok ban, pushing off any changes to the popular video-sharing app. It is the president’s third time kicking this can down the road.

Congress approved legislation last year requiring the president to take the app offline unless its Chinese owners sold their interests, and President Joe Biden signed it into law. Lawmakers said the app posted a national security threat, mainly out of concerns that China could use it to spy on Americans or spread propaganda.

But TikTok remains popular, especially among young people, and Trump has shown no interest in allowing it to go dark under his watch. However, his administration has also not been able to negotiate a path forward with ByteDance and the app’s owners that have shown no interest in selling off the company.

Today in Washington

Hank Johnson rocks on

Credit: AJC file photo

Credit: AJC file photo

June might be best known as Pride Month, but it’s also been designated Black Music Month and an opportunity to celebrate the contributions African Americans have made to American music culture.

U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, an amateur musician who keeps instruments at his homes in Lithonia and Washington to allow for jam sessions, commemorated Black Music Month by posting a video of himself performing a solo of “Hey Joe” by Jimi Hendrix.

Toward the end of the video, Johnson reveals that he has envisioned a bit of a remix for the song.“Hey, Donald Trump,” he sings. “We won’t let you take our democracy down.”

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Shoutouts

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

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Before you go

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

The state Department of Transportation removed nearly 4.8 million cubic tons of storm debris left by Hurricane Helene, which cut a south to north path the length of Georgia last September. More than 2,100 employees participated in the cleanup.

That’ll do it for us today. As always, you can send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.vanbrimmer@ajc.com.

AJC reporter Adam Van Brimmer contributed to this report.