New emails show how Kristi Noem plans to slash the number FEMA disaster responders in half this year
Latest government agency expected to see massive layoffs this year
- Internal Department of Homeland Security documents reportedly reveal plans for significant job cuts at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) by 2026.
- The proposed reductions include a 41% cut to FEMA's Cadre of On-Call Response and Recovery (CORE) roles, affecting over 4,300 jobs, and an 85% cut to surge staffing, impacting nearly 6,500 positions.
- The Washington Post reported that the layoffs are expected to occur in stages, with an initial 65 CORE positions eliminated on New Year's Eve.
- A FEMA spokesperson denied implementing a percentage-based workforce reduction, stating the leaked documents were part of a 'routine, pre-decisional workforce planning exercise' and that numerical assumptions were not approved.
- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has reportedly been closely involved in shaping the proposed reductions, which a former acting FEMA Administrator warned could slow assistance to disaster survivors.