Almost 200 current and former staff members from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a warning on Monday, stating that recent policy shifts implemented by the Trump Administration within the agency could precipitate “not only another national disaster on the scale of Hurricane Katrina, but the ultimate dismantling of FEMA itself and the desertion of the American populace.”
In a communication directed to government officials and members of Congress, the employees asserted that Hurricane Katrina—which struck the Gulf Coast in 2005, claiming nearly 2,000 lives and displacing millions—“was not merely a natural disaster, but a man-made one,” attributable to “the inexperience of senior leadership and the federal government’s profound failure to deliver prompt, cohesive, and effective assistance to those affected.” The document noted that the extensively criticized preparations and response to the storm prompted Congress to enact protective measures designed to avert similar failures in the future. However, it contended that since January, FEMA has been operating under the direction of unqualified leaders whose decisions “undermine FEMA’s operational capacity.”
Thirty-five of the staff members provided their names when signing the communication; an additional 146 signed anonymously, citing “the atmosphere of intimidation and suppression fostered by this administration.”
“We, the undersigned—comprising current and former FEMA employees—have united to alert our administrators, the U.S. Congress, and the American public, enabling us to continue lawfully upholding our individual oaths of office and serving our nation as our mandate dictates,” the communication declared.
The staff members detailed six specific actions undertaken by the Trump Administration with which they disagree, notably “the persistent failure to appoint a qualified FEMA administrator, as mandated by law.”
President Donald Trump was notably critical of FEMA concerning its handling of Hurricane Helene leading up to the 2024 election, and has previously suggested the complete abolition of the agency. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department oversees FEMA, also articulated earlier this year that FEMA should be eliminated, though she later clarified that the Administration was in fact “reorienting” the agency.
In May, Cameron Hamilton, who was serving as FEMA’s acting head, was removed from his position mere weeks before the commencement of the Atlantic hurricane season, and just a day after he had informed members of Congress that the agency was vital to communities “in their most desperate times.”
He was succeeded by David Richardson, who was then the assistant secretary in the Homeland Security Department’s office dedicated to countering weapons of mass destruction. At the time, some FEMA employees expressed concerns that Richardson lacked the requisite experience in emergency management. In June, reports indicated that Richardson had informed staffers he was unaware of the U.S. hurricane season, according to two individuals who overheard the conversation. While the staffers told the Times it was unclear if Richardson was serious, the Department of Homeland Security maintained he had been joking.
In their Monday communication, FEMA employees voiced opposition to the elimination of essential risk reduction programs and the reduction of the agency’s disaster response workforce, among other measures. According to the letter, FEMA has experienced a one-third decrease in its full-time staff this year.
The staffers argued that many of the issues they brought forth impeded their capability to effectively respond to flooding in Kerrville, Texas, in July.
“We find ourselves—on the 20th anniversary of a catastrophe that fundamentally altered the landscape of emergency management—just two months removed from a mass casualty flooding incident in Kerrville, Texas, which laid bare the inefficiencies, ineffectiveness, and perils associated with the current administration’s processes and decisions,” the letter stated. “As that disaster unfolded, FEMA’s crucial mission of providing support was hindered by leadership that not only questions the agency’s very existence but prioritizes ill-informed cost-cutting over serving the American people and the communities we are sworn to assist.”
The employees urged members of Congress to implement several measures to address their concerns, including elevating FEMA to a Cabinet-level independent agency, safeguarding FEMA from “further interference” by the Department of Homeland Security, and protecting FEMA personnel “from politically motivated dismissals.”
They also conveyed their solidarity with colleagues in other federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Over 750 past and present employees from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), NIH, and CDC had previously sent a letter to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last week, imploring him to “cease disseminating inaccurate health information” following an incident at CDC headquarters on August 8.
