The Trump administration is laying the groundwork to fire Federal Emergency Management Agency staff who have worked on addressing climate change or promoting equity and diversity, according to interviews and emails obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News — on top of the hundreds of probationary employees it removed during Presidents Day weekend.
The already-strapped disaster agency is being directed to “come up with employee reductions far beyond the probationary list,” a top FEMA official wrote in an internal email sent recently to senior agency staff.
“Direction is to make a list of anyone who worked on or works on climate, environmental justice, equity, DEIA,” the email reads, referring to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. The email obtained by E&E News was cropped to not include the name of the sender.
The firings could impair an agency that has faced chronic staffing shortages amid intensifying disasters and heightened scrutiny. FEMA employees were so overwhelmed in October responding to severe hurricane damage in six states that the agency was forced to seek help from other federal agencies.
“The next time there’s a major catastrophic event that requires extensive manpower, FEMA’s going to be at a disadvantage,” said Michael Coen, the agency’s chief of staff in the Biden administration.
FEMA confirmed to E&E News that it had fired more than 200 employees and that other agencies in the Department of Homeland Security had fired another 200.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are making sweeping cuts and reform across the federal government to eliminate egregious waste and incompetence that has been happening for decades at the expense of the American taxpayer,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement. They said the firings will cut roughly $50 million in personnel costs.
The department said it fired “non-mission critical personnel in probationary status” and is “actively identifying other wasteful positions and offices that do not fulfill DHS’ mission.”
President Donald Trump has assailed FEMA since taking office, suggesting he might shut down the agency, targeting its response to Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and creating a review council led by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.