On Monday, 182 current and former FEMA employees published an open letter denouncing President Donald Trump’s decision to scale back the agency and shift natural disaster response resources to the states, claiming that it left the country vulnerable to a Hurricane Katrina-scale disaster. Of those who signed, 36 attached their names while the rest remained anonymous out of fear of retaliation. A Wednesday report from the New York Times revealed that nearly all those who attached their names to the letter had been laid off.
About 30 employees who signed on received emails Tuesday night saying they were being placed on administrative leave “effective immediately, and continuing until further notice.”
The emails were short and didn’t give a reason for the suspensions.
Stand Up for Science, which helped publicize the letter, told the Washington Examiner that it appeared that everyone who publicly attached their name to the “Katrina Declaration” had been fired, though it didn’t have a specific number due to the developing nature of events. Among those fired were employees who assisted in responding to the deadly July flash floods in Texas.
“Once again, we are seeing the federal government retaliate against our civil servants for whistleblowing—which is both illegal and a deep betrayal of the most dedicated among us,” the organization said in a statement.
“DHS said that these employees are simply ‘afraid of change’ which is an insult to anyone working at FEMA, the agency directly responsive to rapidly intensifying and changing circumstances. Stand Up for Science is proud to have hosted their Katrina Declaration and we stand by the FEMA 36,” it added.
The Washington Examiner reached out to FEMA and several of those who signed the “Katrina Declaration” for comment.
Several of those who attached their name to the Katrina Declaration left FEMA recently. FEMA archaeologist Angela McComb announced her departure on LinkedIn just two days before the letter was published.
One of those who signed the document was Liz Corrigan, a five-year FEMA employee who left the agency over the summer after her role was downsized. She criticized the changes to FEMA in a post on LinkedIn.
“For several months, I sat idle, fully employed, but unable to do the work I was hired to do. I made the incredibly difficult decision to leave what had once been a dream job,” she wrote.
The Katrina Declaration was published just before the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and sought to draw direct parallels between the preparedness problems around the disaster and current reforms.
“Our shared commitment to our country, our oaths of office, and our mission of helping people before, during, and after disasters compel us to warn Congress and the American people of the cascading effects of decisions made by the current administration,” the employees wrote.
FEMA EMPLOYEES WARN CONGRESS THAT TRUMP OFFICIALS’ ACTIONS RISK ANOTHER KATRINA-LEVEL DISASTER
They expressed hope that those still serving in FEMA would be able to continue to do so, arguing that they signed the letter “so that we can continue to lawfully uphold our individual oaths of office and serve our country as our mission dictates.
“This administration’s decision to ignore and disregard the facts pertaining to climate science in disasters shows a blatant disregard for the safety and security of our Nation’s people and all American communities regardless of their geographic, economic or ethnic diversity,” the letter read.
