A group of current and former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employees warned Monday that the Trump administration is weakening the disaster response agency’s capacity and preventing it from carrying out its mission.
The 181 current and former staffers particularly pointed to an administration policy requiring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to conduct a “personal review and approval of all contracts, grants and mission assignments over $100,000.”
They said that this “reduces FEMA’s authorities and capabilities to swiftly deliver our mission.”
“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; FEMA’s Urban Search and Rescue Branch Chief resigned, citing these delays as cause,” the staffers wrote.
They also lamented that there is no appointed leader helming the agency and said its current leader is not qualified for the position.
The letter comes as the Trump administration has floated the idea of eliminating the agency altogether, and has generally sought to diminish its role while placing more responsibility on states.
The staffers said such policies are making things worse.
“Cuts to these programs prioritize the appearance of cost reduction and empowerment of [State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial] partners but will result in an opposite outcome,” they wrote.
“When we cannot work directly with our SLTT partners in providing training and technical assistance, we lose critical opportunities to maintain trust, strengthen systems, improve preparedness, and serve the American communities we swore an oath to protect at the moments of their most dire need,” they added.
The Hill has reached out to FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
