Overview

• A public letter known as the "Katrina Declaration" drew 191 signatures from current and former FEMA employees, with about 35 attaching their names.
• Emails reviewed by reporters show several named staff were placed on indefinite paid administrative leave with restrictions on duties and system access and daily check‑ins required.
• FEMA defended the changes as overdue accountability, describing the signatories as bureaucrats who resisted reform and saying its priority is getting help to survivors.
• The letter warned that leadership choices, a workforce reduction of roughly one‑third this year, and planned grant cuts of about $1 billion could unravel post‑Katrina improvements.
• Signers opposed a policy requiring DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to approve contracts over $100,000 and criticized reassignments of FEMA staff to ICE, as an advocacy group labeled the leave orders unlawful retaliation.