The Federal Emergency Management Agency placed a group of employees on leave on Tuesday after they published a statement criticizing changes made at the agency under the Trump administration.
In a document titled "Katrina Declaration and Petition to Congress," 191 current and former FEMA employees accused the Trump administration of eroding the capabilities of the agency, which they say is now staffed by unqualified leaders. Thirty-five of the signatories provided their names, with the rest remaining anonymous.
"Our shared commitment to our country, our oaths of office, and our mission of helping people before, during, and after disasters compel us to warn Congress and the American people of the cascading effects of decisions made by the current administration," the statement says. "We the undersigned - current and former FEMA workers - have come together to sound the alarm to our administrators, the US Congress, and the American people so that we can continue to lawfully uphold our individual oaths of office and serve our country as our mission dictates."
President Donald Trump has sent mixed messages about FEMA, at times saying that he wanted the agency to cease operations, with states picking up any resulting slack. As recently as June, Trump said he planned to start "phasing out" the agency at the end of hurricane season, which runs through November. He also indicated that he might distribute disaster funds himself directly from the White House, with less money being provided than in the past.
The signatories said Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, who oversees FEMA, has effectively impounded agency funds by requiring that all expenditures over $100,000 receive her personal review and approval. "Consequences of this manual review became tragically clear during the July 2025 floods in Kerrville, Texas, when mission assignments were delayed up to 72 hours," the statement says.
The agency, which has a budget of about $30 billion and employed more than 20,000 people before layoffs hit earlier this year, has placed 30 employees who signed the statement on administrative leave with pay and benefits, The Washington Post reports.
FEMA pushed back against the accusations. "It is not surprising that some of the same bureaucrats who presided over decades of inefficiency are now objecting to reform," a FEMA spokesperson said. "Under the leadership of Secretary Noem, FEMA will return to its mission of assisting Americans at their most vulnerable."