In a move aimed at decentralizing incident-preparedness and incident-response, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order titled “Achieving Efficiency Through State and Local Preparedness.” The EO seeks to streamline the federal government’s role in responding to incidents like cyber attacks, wildfires, hurricanes, and space weather, and place decision-making power in the hands of State and local governments. 

At the core of this EO is a continued effort, building upon EO 14180: Council to Assess The Federal Emergency Management Agency, to reduce the federal government’s involvement in disaster response while empowering states to take the lead. The EO states that this shift will lead to “saving American lives, securing American livelihoods, reducing taxpayer burdens through efficiency, and unleashing our collective prosperity.”

In order to reduce the complexity of federal government policies, the EO directs the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA) and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy to publish a National Resilience Strategy that will define the priorities and resilience of the country. This strategy will outline the nation’s top priorities for strengthening preparedness and reducing red tape.

Additionally, the APNSA and the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy will conduct a review of critical infrastructure policies, including National Security Memorandum 22, which established the 16 critical infrastructure sectors and sector risk management agencies. The review will identify outdated or unnecessary regulations and recommend updates or removals. The overarching goal is to simplify federal systems regarding critical infrastructure resilience, including incident response and recovery, shifting more responsibility onto state and local governments.

One of the most notable aspects of this order is its potential impact on FEMA. The directive instructs the APNSA to review all national preparedness and response policies and to implement the new National Resilience Strategy. In practice, this could mean reducing FEMA’s oversight and transferring more disaster response responsibilities - and funding - to state and local authorities and reducing the complexities between the current frameworks and functions which guide mitigation, response, and recovery activities.

Another directive in the order is the creation of a National Risk Register, overseen by the APNSA in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Unlike the current “all-hazards” approach which broadly prepares for a range of potential disasters both natural and man-made, this register would focus preparedness efforts on specific, high-priority risks like state-sponsored actors such as Volt Typhoon and Salt Typhoon.

While these changes represent a shift in incident response at the federal level, it is important to note that current cyber response policy for significant cyber incidents will not change. For example, Presidential Policy Directive 41: United States Cyber Incident Coordination, which establishes the structure of the Cyber Unified Coordination Group, is not included in the review of response policies directed by the EO. 

The EO, however, is likely to impact the ongoing planning efforts to update the National Cyber Incident Response Plan (NCIRP). The draft plan, released by CISA in December 2024 for public comment, intended to leverage plans and doctrine for the integration of cyber and physical incident response which are in scope for review - specifically Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5: Management of Domestic Incidents and Presidential Policy Directive 8: National Preparedness.

Trump’s Executive Order signals a clear push for states to take on greater responsibility in disaster preparedness. While the Order argues this will cut inefficiencies and tailor responses to local needs, some may worry about whether all states have the capacity to handle major crises without strong federal backing.

Either way, this move represents a shift in how the U.S. approaches national resilience—one that could reshape disaster response and recovery for years to come.

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