WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Sunday issued an executive order establishing a review council for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, just days after he floated shuttering the agency whose resources are strained following multiple weather-related disasters and which is burdened by past failures in handling massive storms.

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.”

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.

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.

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order which could lead to the eradication of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The order on Sunday night demanded a task force to investigate the agency and find solutions that will transform it.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a council to evaluate the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), stopping short of immediate action to shut down or overhaul the disaster