Exclusive: DHS begins slashing FEMA disaster response staff as 2026 begins
Source: CNN Politics
PUBLISHED Jan 1, 2026, 11:17 PM ET
The Trump administration is abruptly cutting dozens of staff who are at the forefront of disaster response and recovery at the Federal Emergency Management Agency this week, according to internal emails obtained by CNN and sources familiar with the plan. On New Years Eve, some employees received emails saying their positions would not be renewed and therefore, your services will no longer be needed after their contracts expire in the first days of January.
The cuts target FEMAs Cadre of On-Call Response and Recovery (CORE) teams, which form the backbone of the agencys operations during and after a disaster, and could be just the beginning of a larger effort by Secretary Kristi Noem and the Department of Homeland Security to shrink FEMA, potentially axing thousands of workers in the coming months who deploy during hurricanes, wildfires and other national emergencies.
According to two sources with knowledge of the terminations, which suddenly ousted roughly 50 CORE staff, the decision came from FEMAs new acting chief Karen Evans who was elevated to the role by DHS leadership after the embattled previous agency head resigned.
The notices stunned employees, who learned they would be let go within days. Beyond cruel to be treated in such a way, one of the workers said.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/01/politics/dhs-cutting-fema-disaster-response-staff
multigraincracker
(36,907 posts)Of course at the expense of help for those that need it in Blue States.
travelingthrulife
(4,427 posts)Another series of lawsuits while they are blowing the country apart.
dutch777
(4,850 posts)Heaven forbid there is a really big natural disaster like a 9.0 west coast or Alaska earthquake hits. Those regions will be significantly on their own for a long time. Having been in hospital emergency management on the west coast for my last few years before retiring, the basic plan was we would be on our own for the first 72 to 96 hours but then help from FEMA would start arriving. After that the generators are running out of fuel, oxygen and other med gases are low and our staff and basic supplies are all exhausted. Not a pretty picture.
popsdenver
(1,497 posts)not a single major hurricane event occurred in Florida.............what a gargantuan gift from mother nature to the Republicans.....
Trump and the Republican Party, are merely acting as agents of Putin, slowly and drastically dis-mantling the U.S. economy, our government, our country, Democracy, our Constitution, rules of law and order, and our economy............
ProudMNDemocrat
(20,594 posts)For when disaster does strike from Hurricanes, Tornadoes, and other SEVERE weather events, they and the rest of this country are FUCKED!
November of 2026 will be their reckoning that the people have had enough! States with higher taxes will be able to stave off disasters for a while. But those with their hands out for Federal monies will be hurting BIGLY!
SergeStorms
(19,925 posts)Trump outlawed hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes and droughts with a stroke of his presidential Sharpie.
Asked to comment, Mother Nature is quoted as saying, "The Big Orange Fascist Pig ain't seen nothin' yet," then hurried off to begin her preparations for 2026.
I don't know about everyone else, but I feel totally secure with Trump at the helm.