Federal Judge Says Trump Plan to Halve FEMA Workforce Was Unlawful
Summary
A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration acted unlawfully by planning to cut FEMA’s workforce by about half and by taking control of staffing decisions away from FEMA. The judge found that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) overstepped its authority in managing FEMA’s personnel and violated rules meant to keep FEMA independent.Key Facts
- The plan aimed to reduce FEMA’s workforce from about 23,000 employees to roughly 11,500.
- DHS directed the reduction and blocked the renewal of many temporary disaster-response workers.
- The lawsuit was filed by federal employee unions arguing the cuts would harm FEMA’s ability to respond to disasters.
- FEMA supervisors opposed the 50% staffing cut, but DHS officials pushed the plan anyway.
- The judge said DHS unlawfully took over FEMA’s personnel decisions, violating post-Hurricane Katrina reforms.
- FEMA is part of the DHS, which was created in 2002 after the 9/11 attacks.
- The ruling also noted that FEMA and DHS officials deleted messages on Signal, a messaging app, related to the staffing cuts.
- President Donald Trump has expressed that states should take more responsibility for disaster response and has criticized FEMA.
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