Overview

• Stand Up for Science said multiple employees who publicly signed the Katrina Declaration were placed on administrative leave Tuesday, and the New York Times reported around 30 were put on paid leave.
• The letter accused President Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem of eroding response capacity through funding cuts, new spending controls, and the appointment of unqualified leadership including acting administrator David Richardson.
• Signatories said roughly one-third of FEMA’s full-time workforce—about 2,000 employees—has departed and cited July’s Central Texas floods, with at least 135 deaths, as evidence that Noem’s requirement to personally approve expenditures over $100,000 and lapsed call-center contracts delayed aid.
• The petition urged Congress to establish FEMA as a Cabinet-level independent agency and to protect career staff from politically motivated firings.
• FEMA acting press secretary Daniel Llargués defended the administration’s reforms as accountability measures aimed at cutting red tape and said the agency remains committed to serving disaster survivors.