FEMA employees who signed letter Monday critical of admin placed on leave
The 36 current Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employees who signed their names in a letter to Congress critical of the Trump administration's actions at the agency have been placed on administrative leave, according to an email posted by the group "Stand up for Science," which published the letter on Monday.
The two-page letter said the employees were placed on administrative leave with no timetable for return.
Stand up for Science said the employees placed on leave include individuals who were directly involved in relief efforts in Kerr County, Texas.
"This situation is developing, but this decision underscores the many issues these public servants described in their declaration and their bravery in standing up for Americans in need," the group said. "Once again, we are seeing the federal government retaliate against our civil servants for whistleblowing—which is both illegal and a deep betrayal of the most dedicated among us. DHS said that these employees are simply 'afraid of change,' which is an insult to anyone working at FEMA, the agency directly responsive to rapidly intensifying and changing circumstances. Stand Up for Science is proud to have hosted their Katrina Declaration and we stand by the FEMA 36."
Some FEMA employees on Monday warned Congress that the Trump administration's changes and leadership at the agency could harm the United States if disaster strikes.
"Since January 2025, FEMA has been under the leadership of individuals lacking legal qualifications, Senate approval, and the demonstrated background required of a FEMA Administrator," around 180 employees wrote to Congress on Monday.
In the months after Hurricane Katrina, which killed almost 1,300 and resulted in billions of dollars' worth of damage to New Orleans in August 2005, Congress passed the Post Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 with an effort to better streamline emergency management at the federal level.
FEMA employees wrote that the "agency's current trajectory reflects a clear departure from the intent" of that legislation.
DHS did not respond to ABC News' request for comment about the employees placed on administrative leave, but on Monday cited its responses to recent flooding in New Mexico and Texas as examples of its reforms' effectiveness.
"For too long, FEMA was bogged down by red tape, inefficiency, and outdated processes that failed to get disaster dollars into survivors' hands. The Trump Administration has made accountability and reform a priority so that taxpayer dollars actually reach the people and communities they are meant to help," they said.
"It is not surprising that some of the same bureaucrats who presided over decades of inefficiency are now objecting to reform. Change is always hard. It is especially for those invested in the status quo. But our obligation is to survivors, not to protecting broken systems," the spokesperson added.
