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Multiple FEMA staffers have been put on administrative leave following their public criticism of the Trump administration’s leadership and disaster response strategy.

Getting into it: First reported by The Washington Post, roughly 30 FEMA employees were placed on paid administrative leave just one day after signing the “Katrina Declaration” (a public letter sent to Congress warning that the Trump administration’s leadership was unraveling FEMA’s post-Katrina reforms and putting the nation at risk). Those suspended included both headquarters staff and field personnel. Notices delivered via email ordered recipients to cease all FEMA-related activity, barred them from contacting colleagues, and required them to provide personal contact information after losing access to government systems. Of the 182 current and former FEMA staff who signed the letter, 36 did so publicly, while the rest remained anonymous due to fear of retaliation (a fear that, following the immediate suspensions, many now say has been validated).

The letter, published by the nonprofit Stand Up for Science on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, condemned what the signers described as a systemic dismantling of FEMA’s capabilities under President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. It cited budget cuts and the erosion of disaster preparedness programs as evidence that the agency was being steered back toward its pre-Katrina dysfunction. The letter warned Congress that the administration’s actions could lead to catastrophic failures reminiscent of FEMA’s performance during Katrina.

FEMA has defended the suspensions, framing them as an expected backlash from staff opposed to reform. In a public statement, a spokeswoman dismissed the authors of the letter as entrenched bureaucrats who had “presided over decades of inefficiency” and were now resisting accountability.

This all comes as the Trump administration pushes forward with a broader effort to restructure FEMA and reframe the federal government’s role in disaster response. President Trump has repeatedly suggested that FEMA should be significantly scaled back or even eliminated, arguing that states should bear more responsibility for managing emergencies.