Several employees at the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have been placed on administrative leave after signing an open letter expressing dissent over agency leadership and policy changes under President Donald Trump, according to the nonprofit that published the letter.
The letter, released on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, criticized budget cuts, personnel decisions, and reforms that signatories said could recreate the conditions that contributed to FEMA’s widely criticized response to the 2005 hurricane. The nonprofit Stand Up for Science confirmed multiple employees who publicly signed the “Katrina Declaration” had been placed on leave, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera.
As of Tuesday evening, the letter had over 190 signatories, most of them anonymous due to fears of retaliation. The New York Times reported that around 30 employees were suspended, though they will continue to receive pay and benefits. One of the suspended employees, Virginia Case, a supervisory management and programme analyst, told CNN she was “disappointed but not surprised” and expressed pride in standing up for transparency.
The development follows similar actions at other federal agencies. In July, the Environmental Protection Agency placed 139 employees on leave after signing a critical letter. Critics say the moves underscore concerns that the Trump administration does not tolerate dissent among civil servants.
FEMA’s press secretary said the agency has been hampered by red tape and inefficiencies, and that the administration has made “accountability and reform a priority.” However, since returning to the White House in January, Trump has suggested abolishing FEMA, leaving states to handle disaster response.
Roughly 2,000 FEMA employees—about a third of its workforce—have left the agency this year through firings, buyouts, or early retirements. The letter warned that recent policy changes risked rolling back the Post-Katrina Emergency Reform Act of 2006, which strengthened FEMA’s authority following the catastrophic flooding in New Orleans that killed over 1,800 people.
