More than 200 employees at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have been fired, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA. The move is part of the Trump Administration's sweeping layoffs across government which have led to thousands so far losing their jobs.
The loss is likely to hinder FEMA's ability to respond to disasters, according to several current and former FEMA employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity over concerns of reprisal. FEMA is already understaffed according to government reports, and is facing an increasing number of disasters, spurred by more intense hurricanes, storms and wildfires.
"There's so much work to be done and so many people in need that I met firsthand and to be taken away from that when I'm trained and ready to help hurts," says a FEMA employee who was fired this week and who requested anonymity in case speaking to the media could harm future employment opportunities.
President Trump has criticized FEMA, saying the agency is too bureaucratic and suggesting it potentially could be disbanded. He recently created a council to review FEMA's mission and overhaul the agency.
In recent years, FEMA has faced increasing demands as wildfires and floods have caused widespread destruction, especially as disasters have happened more frequently, often at the same time. As the climate gets hotter, hurricanes and rainstorms are only expected to get more intense.
"Whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, regardless of who you voted for or what state you live in, nobody should feel particularly assured that FEMA is coming to their assistance in your time of need," says Rob Moore, senior policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council, a non-profit environmental group.
FEMA's existing staffing shortfall
The firings, both at FEMA headquarters and in regional offices across the country, hit employees who have held their position for less than a year, known as having "probationary" status. That includes personnel new to the agency. But the category also includes long-time employees who were recently promoted, some with more than a decade of experience. The agency has more than 20,000 employees nationwide.
"Under President Trump's leadership, we are making sweeping cuts and reform across the federal government to eliminate egregious waste and incompetence that has been happening for decades at the expense of the American taxpayer," said a statement from the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA. They added the eliminated positions were "non-mission critical personnel."
When a major disaster hits, FEMA relies on personnel from all over the country, even from departments not dedicated to disaster response. They're deployed to the community that's been hit or they support FEMA staff on the ground. While there, they field tens of thousands of phone calls and visit with evacuees, connecting them with short-term financial support like rental assistance, as well as longer-term support for rebuilding.
As disasters have become bigger and more frequent, FEMA has struggled with having enough personnel to respond. A report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that FEMA had a 35% gap in necessary staffing in 2022, amounting to hundreds of people, and that a heavy workload was leading to burnout and retention issues.
During Hurricane Helene last year, which caused destructive flooding from Florida to North Carolina, FEMA deployed 900 employees to the area, some who reported working long hours of overtime to meet the overwhelming demand. FEMA called in hundreds of personnel from other government agencies to fill the gap, as the agency also did after hurricanes and wildfires in 2017.
"Reducing the capability of FEMA could potentially put people's lives at risk for future events," says Michael Coen, chief of staff at FEMA under the Biden and Obama administrations. "We've been behind at FEMA as far as our recruiting goals. And now to let go of a whole year's worth of people who have been hired is only going to put the agency in jeopardy."
Employees still at FEMA, speaking on the condition of anonymity over concerns about reprisal from the Trump Administration, say the firings have hurt morale at a time when the agency is still dealing with wildfires in Los Angeles and flooding in Kentucky, as well as preparing for the upcoming hurricane and wildfire season. One compared it to a storyline from Harry Potter, where Lord Voldemort invades Hogwarts, Harry's wizard school.
"Many of the people that I know that were dismissed were leaving major projects for the agency and their exit will significantly delay or potentially doom the success or execution of those projects," said a FEMA employee who was fired and wants to remain anonymous to not jeopardize future employment in government.
The future of FEMA
Trump is creating a council to review FEMA, citing what the administration calls "political bias" in the agency. During Hurricane Helene, Trump accused the Biden Administration of a poor response, falsely claiming that FEMA was running out of money after spending it on immigrants without legal status
The claim was untrue, something other Republicans tried to correct as misinformation grew on social media. Facing threats of physical violence, FEMA briefly paused door-to-door visits in North Carolina. The hurricane became further politicized when one FEMA worker was fired after telling others not to visit homes in Florida that displayed Trump signs.
Trump has said managing disasters is better left to states themselves. Currently, local and state governments already run the response to a disaster and invite FEMA's help if needed. Shifting disaster response entirely to states would potentially put them on the hook for billions of dollars in public aid, clean up and rebuilding costs.
"Disasters have increased, the intensity of storms have increased, which has put more demand on the agency, more demand on the federal government," Coen says. "States are more reliant on the federal government because, these storms – whether it's a tornado, a flood, in particular inland flooding – the consequences are beyond the current plans that states have put in place."
Ximena Bustillo contributed to this story.
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