Trump FEMA cuts plan violated law, US judge rules
A U.S. judge has declared that the Trump administration's decision to slash the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) workforce in half violated federal law. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco ruled on Friday that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had acted unlawfully by overriding FEMA's authority over its personnel and attempting to reduce thousands of disaster-response jobs.
FEMA falls under DHS, and a 2005 federal law stipulates that the department cannot significantly diminish FEMA's authorities, responsibilities, or functions. The unions suing the administration agreed with Illston's decision, stating that the administration breached the law when it halted FEMA from renewing temporary contracts for thousands of disaster-response personnel.
The ruling does not include remedies or penalties, but Illston stated that the parties will address this in a separate ruling next month. The unions argue that the planned cuts would undermine FEMA's core mission, were not approved by Congress, and were ordered by former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem instead of FEMA itself.
The Trump administration had previously argued that FEMA had ample flexibility to determine proper staffing levels.
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