Kristi Noem has promoted a ruthless Department of Homeland Security enforcer who is nicknamed “The Terminator” as she seeks to “dismantle” the Federal Emergency Management Agency on behalf of President Donald Trump.
Karen Evans, 58, a longtime federal IT and cybersecurity official, was the “final gatekeeper” on spending inside FEMA—“terminating grants, terminating contracts, terminating people,” former officials told CNN.
They said her line-by-line vetoes stalled cash for communities preparing for—or digging out from—disasters.
A “Karen” is a stereotype for an entitled, rules-wielding scold, someone who leverages authority to demand rigid compliance.
Evans’ behavior at DHS, which critics characterized to CNN as a ruthless pursuit of control and cost-cutting, suggests she lives up to her name.
Sources at the agency told the network that Evans’ elevation signals that Homeland Security Secretary Noem intends to accelerate the dismantling of FEMA at President Trump’s direction and transfer more disaster-response responsibility onto the states while keeping DHS control over the purse.
That fight has raged for months as a Trump-created FEMA Review Council weighs the agency’s future and a bipartisan “FEMA Act” pushes independence, CNN reported.
Noem’s new rule requiring her personal sign-off on any FEMA expenditure above $100,000 jammed aid during lethal Texas floods in July, delaying deployments by days and helping trigger the resignation of FEMA Urban Search and Rescue chief Ken Pagurek.
Now Trump, 79, Noem, 53, and DHS power broker Corey Lewandowski, 52—her chief adviser and rumored lover—have in place a loyalist atop the agency at the very moment states warn of stalled funds and shifting obligations.
Inside FEMA, Evans’ rise follows a chaotic year. Acting boss David Richardson baffled staff with flubs before resigning last week.
His departure paves the way for Evans to serve as the “Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Administrator” without Senate confirmation, according to CNN.
The network also reported that Evans pushed controversial grant decisions, including efforts targeting Muslim nonprofits for disqualification, and enforced Noem’s choke-point spending rule that insiders say slowed life-and-death aid.
The power play has spilled into courtrooms and Congress. Federal judges have rebuked DHS over FEMA-related grant conditions and compliance, including a Rhode Island ruling calling the tactics “bullying” and a separate order finding the administration violated a court directive by pausing FEMA grants.
GOP allies have grumbled that the $100,000 bottleneck turned disaster relief into a paperwork war, which some agencies have reportedly had to work around.
White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson told the Daily Beast: “President Trump is committed to right-sizing the Federal government while empowering State and local governments by enabling them to better understand, plan for, and ultimately address the needs of their citizens.”
DHS declined to comment to CNN, and Evans did not respond to a request for comment.
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