Judge says Homeland Security unlawfully pushed FEMA staffing cuts
A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration’s plan to cut the Federal Emergency Management Agency workforce in half was unlawful.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said the Department of Homeland Security improperly took control of FEMA personnel decisions and pressed the agency to reduce thousands of disaster-response jobs. The ruling said federal law passed after Hurricane Katrina protects FEMA’s core authority even though the agency sits within DHS.
Illston also found DHS violated that law when it sought to stop FEMA from renewing temporary contracts for thousands of on-call reservists who respond to disasters. The unions that sued argued the cuts would weaken FEMA’s disaster mission and had not been approved by Congress.
The judge did not order a remedy in Friday’s decision. She said the next phase will address what relief, if any, is still outstanding, with briefing due by Oct. 9.
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