DHS plan to cut FEMA staffing by 50% ruled unlawful

Date

Sep 11, 2026

Kind

Mass workforce action

Legal outcome

Litigation pending

Source

usnews.com ↗

Agency or court

FEMA; DHS; Judge Susan Illston

What happened

Judge Susan Illston ruled that a DHS plan to cut FEMA's staffing by 50% - more than 11,000 employees - was unlawful, finding DHS, then led by Secretary Kristi Noem, directed FEMA's leadership to submit the plan even though FEMA's own supervisors objected; she wrote that the number "appears as if pulled from thin air." She held DHS violated post-Hurricane Katrina protections that put FEMA's staffing decisions in the agency's own hands, and directed the parties to negotiate relief by Oct. 9. The 50% cut was never fully carried out.

Publisher

Associated Press (via U.S. News & World Report)

Full record

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