DHS says FEMA petition signers wrongly reinstated
DHS told Axios that 14 FEMA employees who signed the 'Katrina Declaration' criticizing the administration’s disaster response were briefly and 'without authorization' reinstated Monday, then promptly returned to administrative leave. The workers—who filed whistleblower complaints with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel after being sidelined this summer—had received return‑to‑work notices last week before senior leadership reversed the move the same day.
📌 Key Facts
- DHS statement: the reinstatement of 14 FEMA employees was 'wrongly and without authorization' and has been 'swiftly corrected.'
- Employees had been placed on leave after signing an August petition to Congress warning of FEMA cutbacks; one was fired.
- Government Accountability Project says workers were ordered back to work Monday morning, then returned to leave by afternoon.
📊 Relevant Data
Since Hurricane Katrina, White residents have returned to New Orleans in larger numbers than Black residents, particularly in neighborhoods that were predominantly Black before the storm.
“Baby Won't You Please Come Home:” Studying Ethnoracial Segregation Trends in New Orleans Pre- and Post-Hurricane Katrina — Journal of Politics and International Affairs
One in three Black residents did not return to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, leading to widened racial disparities in the region.
How Hurricane Katrina Exposed the Racism of a Nation — Momentum - Medium
FEMA has shed roughly 2,450 employees, 9.5% of the workforce, since the start of Trump's second term.
'Where is this so-called efficiency?' Current and former FEMA employees protest Trump overhauls of disaster agency — Government Executive
At least 148,000 federal employees have left government under Trump, according to a good government group report.
At least 148000 federal employees have left government under Trump, good government group reports — Government Executive