Legal challenge to FEMA staffing cuts
US District Judge Susan Illston ruled on September 12 that the Department of Homeland Security acted unlawfully in trying to cut FEMA's workforce roughly in half, finding DHS had improperly seized control of FEMA's own personnel authority in violation of a 2006 law -- passed after Hurricane Katrina -- barring DHS from substantially reducing FEMA's 'authorities, responsibilities, or functions.' The ruling centered on DHS's move, under then-Secretary Kristi Noem, to limit FEMA's ability to renew contracts for its Cadre of On-Call Response and Recovery (CORE) teams, roughly 40% of FEMA's workforce and often the first federal responders to disasters, to 180 days at a time rather than the traditional two-to-four-year terms, and to let some contracts lapse starting in January. Illston wrote there was 'no evidence in the record reflecting reasoned decision-making' for the change and that FEMA's target staffing level of 11,383 employees -- about half its prior size -- 'appears as if pulled from thin air.' She did not order specific remedies, instead directing the parties to submit proposals on relief by October 9.
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14 September 2026
- Federal judge says DHS unlawfully tried to slash FEMA staffing by half Fox News
- Trump’s FEMA overhaul dealt legal blow as judge rules staffing plan unlawful Fox News