Some FEMA staff warn that Trump cuts may weaken disaster response
On the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Federal Emergency Management Agency (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.
FEMA is an agency of the Department of Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
"Decisions made by FEMA's Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Administrator (SOPDA) David Richardson, Former SOPDA Cameron Hamilton, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem erode the capacity of FEMA and our State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) partners, hinder the swift execution of our mission, and dismiss experienced staff whose institutional knowledge and relationships are vital to ensure effective emergency management," they added.
The agency went through a force reduction and Noem placed a tighter grip on grants given out by the agency.
In the months after 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.
Current and former employees outlined six different issues with the Trump administration -- ranging from opposing a "qualified" administrator to opposing cuts to the agency.
The Trump administration has said in the past they are looking to streamline the agency and the cuts are necessary.
In a statement sent to ABC News, a DHS spokesperson 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"For too long, FEMA was bogged down by red tape, inefficiency, and outdated processes that failed to get disaster dollars into survivors’ hands.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.
