The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has reportedly suspended a number of staff who criticized the agency's direction under US President Donald Trump.
The staff are said to have been among those who recently signed an open letter that castigated Trump officials over cuts and alleged interference, warning that another national catastrophe akin to Hurricane Katrina was possible.
More than 20 employees were told on Tuesday that they had been put on administrative leave, according to sources who spoke to the BBC's US partner, CBS News.
Asked by the BBC for a comment, a FEMA spokesperson said the agency's obligation was to survivors of disasters, not to protecting broken systems.
The spokesperson also stated: It is not surprising that some of the same bureaucrats who presided over decades of inefficiency are now objecting to reform.
Change is always hard. It is especially for those invested in the status quo, who have forgotten that their duty is to the American people, not entrenched bureaucracy. There has been renewed scrutiny over US disaster readiness after recent flooding in Texas and as a result of Trump actions during his second presidency.
Trump initiated significant changes to the disaster-management agency soon after returning to office in January and suggested possibly eliminating FEMA altogether. He has characterized the organization as inefficient, indicating that state-level officials might better handle natural disasters.
Sources indicate that hundreds of FEMA employees, approximately a third of the agency's workforce, have left their positions since the beginning of the year.
Of the 191 FEMA staff members who signed the recent open letter protesting the agency's direction under Trump, most have chosen to remain anonymous. The letter referenced the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, emphasizing the necessity for effective management in response to disasters.
The letter criticized the Trump administration for cuts affecting the agency's funding and workforce, the lack of a permanent agency head, and the perceived censorship of climate science. It urged a defense against interference from the Department of Homeland Security and called for an end to politically motivated firings.
The letter concluded with a call to prevent another national catastrophe similar to Hurricane Katrina and to avoid the dissolution of FEMA itself.
In response to the letter, a FEMA official defended the agency's operations and reforms under Trump, asserting commitments to American citizens while also indicating past inefficiencies hampered the agency's effectiveness. The Department of Homeland Security has yet to respond.
Some employees who signed the letter received notifications stating their immediate administrative leave, classified as non-duty status, with continued pay and benefits but lacking specific reasoning. Despite claims to the contrary, the agency reassured that the move is not a disciplinary action and is not intended to be punitive. Media reports suggest up to 30 employees may have received such notifications.
At least two suspended FEMA employees were involved in the federal response to a deadly Texas flood last July, which claimed numerous lives, including 27 girls at a summer camp. In past congressional hearings, FEMA's acting administrator characterized the agency's disaster response as a model despite accusations of delays in some rescue operations.
This controversy regarding FEMA's suspensions emerges alongside a particularly active North Atlantic hurricane season, placing heightened expectations on the agency amidst climate change implications.
