A group of current and former employees at the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have been placed on paid administrative leave after signing an internal dissent letter delivered to Congress and the agency’s Review Council.
The letter, sent on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, warned that recent leadership changes, budget reductions, and shifting policies under President Trump are weakening FEMA’s ability to respond effectively to disasters .
Around 180 individuals supported the letter, though only about 35 publicly attached their names—a precaution many took due to fears of retaliation .
Within a day, some of the named signatories received notices indicating they had been placed on leave, effective immediately.
These letters clarified that the leave was not disciplinary and assured pay and benefits would continue, but required recipients to remain available and avoid performing official duties .
The letter voiced several specific concerns: elimination of mitigation, training, and recovery programs; lack of a Senate-confirmed FEMA administrator; policies requiring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s approval for certain contracts; and the reassigning of FEMA staff to other duties.
It cautioned these changes risk undoing post-Katrina reforms and could leave the U.S. vulnerable to another major disaster .
FEMA’s response emphasized its commitment to supporting disaster survivors, portraying the dissenters as resistant to reforms intended to reduce inefficiencies.
The agency framed the actions not as punitive but as part of a broader effort to modernize operations.
Critics, however, see the suspensions as retaliation against dissent and a troubling sign of politicization in disaster management.