CNN
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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is tightening her grip on her department’s purse strings, ordering that every contract and grant over $100,000 must now cross her desk for approval, according to a memo exclusively obtained by CNN.
The sweeping directive issued last week adds an extra layer of review for billions of dollars in funding across the Department of Homeland Security, which includes agencies such as US Customs and Border Protection, the Coast Guard, Secret Service and Federal Emergency Management Agency.
It’s the latest in a string of moves the Trump administration has billed as rooting out waste and fraud but that could have wide-ranging implications for federal agencies, particularly DHS as it is charged with multiple mission sets including emergency response.
Officials inside FEMA warn the new approval process could severely disrupt the distribution of emergency funds during natural disasters. With hurricane season already underway, multiple sources told CNN that Noem’s policy threatens to bog down FEMA’s rapid-response efforts – and could choke off critical aid when every second counts.
One FEMA official directly involved in disaster response called the policy “a dramatic and unprecedented overreach” and contends that Noem “is effectively preventing the department from functioning.”
“This will hurt nonprofits, states, and small towns. Massive delays feel inevitable,” said the official who asked not to be named to speak candidly.
“It’s bonkers,” said a former senior FEMA official who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.
Noem rolled out the change in an internal memo, demanding that all funding requests for her review include extensive details – mission impact, dollar values, descriptions of the supplies or services, timeliness issues, and a description of the proposed action.
She warned that each review would likely take at least five days.
Homeland security grants and contracts span a wide range of efforts, including securing transit, guarding against terrorism, bolstering cybersecurity and helping local firefighters. But FEMA funds make up a huge proportion of the funding.
In the chaos of a major disaster, FEMA can greenlight hundreds of payments and spend billions of dollars in just days. During Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the agency obligated roughly $7 billion in a single month, a FEMA document shows.
Now, those urgent funding requests could be funneled to Noem’s office, raising fears of bureaucratic gridlock.
“I was shocked. I’ve never seen a control like this put in place,” said Michael Coen, who served as FEMA’s chief of staff under the Biden and Obama administrations.
“The amount of documentation and explanation that FEMA would have to do to justify expenditures would cause paralysis,” he added. “If lives are at stake, I believe FEMA staff would either disobey that memo or they’ll quit.”
CNN reached out to DHS about these concerns, specifically asking how the department would ensure disaster funds flow swiftly. In response, a DHS spokesperson emphasized Noem’s commitment to accountability.
“Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS is rooting out waste, fraud, abuse, and is reprioritizing appropriated dollars,” a DHS spokesperson wrote. “Secretary Noem is delivering accountability to the U.S. taxpayer, which Washington bureaucrats have ignored for decades at the expense of American citizens.”
In March, Noem imposed a similar rule for contracts and grants over $25 million, a move that alarmed emergency management officials even then. The new, much lower threshold of $100,000 could bring disaster response to a crawl if her office can’t keep up with the approvals, sources said.
“The idea a Cabinet secretary is approving anything over $100,000 is designed on purpose to not pay people,” the former senior FEMA official said.
Noem’s close scrutiny of FEMA has extended beyond spending. In recent weeks, she has installed at least half a dozen homeland security officials – many with little experience in disaster management – into FEMA’s front office, where they are now steering the agency’s day-to-day operations.
President Donald Trump and Noem have vowed to phase out FEMA after the 2025 hurricane season, which ends on November 30, and plan to shift the burden of disaster relief to the states. Noem is also co-chairing a new FEMA Review Council, which is expected to recommend sweeping reforms to the agency in the coming months.
