Some FEMA staff are put on leave after signing dissent letter
[August 27, 2025]
By GABRIELA AOUN ANGUEIRA
Some employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency who signed a
public letter of dissent earlier this week were put on administrative
leave Tuesday evening, according to documents reviewed by The Associated
Press.
More than 180 current and former FEMA employees signed the letter sent
to the FEMA Review Council and Congress on Monday critiquing recent cuts
to agency staff and programs, and warning that FEMA's capacity to
respond to a major disaster was dangerously diminished.
Thirty-five signed their names while 141 signed anonymously for fear of
retribution.
The Associated Press has confirmed that at least two of the signatories
received notices Tuesday evening informing them they would be placed on
leave indefinitely, with pay and that they must still check in every
morning confirming their availability. It was unclear what the status
was for other signatories.
The notice said the decision “is not a disciplinary action and is not
intended to be punitive.”
FEMA did not respond immediately to questions about how many staff
received the notice and whether it was related to the opposition letter.
The Washington Post first reported that some FEMA employees were being
put on leave.
The dissent letter contained six “statements of opposition” to current
policies at FEMA, including an expenditure approval policy by which
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem must approve contracts exceeding
$100,000, which the signatories said reduces FEMA’s ability to perform
its mission.
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters is photographed
in Washington, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
It also critiqued the DHS decision to reassign some FEMA employees
to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the failure to appoint a
qualified FEMA administrator as stipulated by law, and cuts to
mitigation programs, preparedness training and FEMA workforce.
In an email Monday, FEMA spokesperson Daniel Llargues said that the
Trump administration “has made accountability and reform a priority
so that taxpayer dollars actually reach the people and communities
they are meant to help.”
“It is not surprising that some of the same bureaucrats who presided
over decades of inefficiency are now objecting to reform,” Llargues
said. “Change is always hard.”
Employees at other agencies including the National Institutes of
Health and Environmental Protection Agency have issued similar
statements. About 140 EPA staff members at the were placed on
administrative leave for signing an opposition letter.
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