The acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency wrote to staff reassuring them that the agency's continued existence was vital to the country's disaster response efforts, after President Donald Trump said he wanted to overhaul or scrap it.

The agency was created in the late 1970s and is tasked with helping states and communities impacted by disasters nationwide.

Trump, in a visit to an area devastated by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, said states should instead “take care of” disaster response.

Ahead of a tour of two states struck by natural disasters, President Donald Trump criticized the disaster response agency as “very bureaucratic” and “very slow.”

President Trump toured North Carolina and Southern California Friday, two areas recently affected by disaster. He also said he's considering getting rid of FEMA. WGN's Shannon Halligan explains.

Notably, Trump’s executive order on FEMA does not seek to eliminate the agency; Congress would need to act to do that. The order instead underscores Trump’s interest in turning to outside advisers and private-sector companies to fill some typically governmental functions as he seeks to quickly accomplish his second-term goals.