U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday issued an executive order establishing a review council to evaluate the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), stopping short of instant action to shut or reshape the country's lead disaster response agency.

Washinngton DC: US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a review council for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on January 26, shortly after stating he was thinking about 'eliminating' the key organization that responds to disasters, even labeling it a 'major disappointment.’

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

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.

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.

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.”

US President Donald Trump initiates a review of FEMA following criticism, aiming to assess the agency's effectiveness in disaster response.- Watch Video on English Oneindia

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

Trump suggested some states were more deserving of aid than others, and that the feds could step out of relief role