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FEMA Employees Suspended for Criticizing Agency under Trump Administration

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

More than 20 employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have been suspended after signing an open letter to Congress criticizing the agency under the Trump administration. The letter, known as the "Katrina Declaration," criticized FEMA's leadership and its response to disasters, including Hurricane Katrina, which caused severe harm to the people of New Orleans in 2005. The employees, who signed the letter anonymously due to fear of retaliation, were placed on paid administrative leave, effectively immediately.

Key Takeaways:

  • 191 current and former FEMA employees signed the "Katrina Declaration," with only 35 providing their names.
  • The letter criticized FEMA's leadership and its response to disasters, including Hurricane Katrina.
  • The employees expressed opposition to six key issues, including reduced ability to perform missions, failure to appoint a qualified administrator, and interference with preparedness programs.
  • The letter demanded that Congress establish FEMA as a cabinet-level independent agency and protect FEMA employees from politically motivated firings.
  • The suspension of the employees comes amid a series of open resistance declarations from federal employees, including similar letters from employees of the National Institutes of Health, Environmental Protection Agency, NASA, and the National Science Foundation.
  • Jeremy Edwards, a former press secretary for FEMA, stated that the employees who signed the letter were "scared" of being inadequately prepared for disasters.
  • Virginia Case, a supervisory management and program analyst, said that she knows of at least six others at FEMA who received the suspension emails.

Statistics:

  • 191: The number of current and former FEMA employees who signed the "Katrina Declaration."
  • 35: The number of employees who provided their names when signing the letter.
  • 20: The number of employees suspended by FEMA for signing the letter.
  • 6: The number of employees who signed the letter anonymously but received the suspension notification.
  • 2005: The year Hurricane Katrina caused severe harm to the people of New Orleans.
  • 2006: The year the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act (PKEMRA) was enacted.
  • 1912: The year the Lloyd-La Follette Act was enacted, which established the U.S. Civil Service Commission.

Sources:

  • CBS News
  • CNN
  • The Washington Post
  • The UPI

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