FEMA has moved to address staffing issues that have raised concern and uncertainty among its workforce, including bringing back employees who were furloughed for publicly opposing agency policies, and extending the contracts of some workers whose terms are set to expire soon.
The changes come as FEMA prepares for the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season and the FIFA World Cup, both of which begin in June.
Fourteen FEMA employees who signed a public letter of opposition last August sounding the alarm about the agency’s ability to respond to disasters were told via email Wednesday that the investigation into the matter has been closed and that they would return to work Thursday after being on paid administrative leave for eight months, according to two FEMA employees.
“I feel right, like we did the right thing,” said Abby McElreath, a FEMA emergency management specialist who was among the suspended workers. Their return was first reported by NBC News.
FEMA leadership also told some employees this week that it would extend certain fixed-term contracts for employees, according to documents seen by The Associated Press, amid extended uncertainty about the future of those positions and related matters. lawsuit.
The actions are the latest signs that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullen is moving away from the tougher approach taken by his predecessor, Kristi Noem, toward the Federal Emergency Management Agency, before she was removed as head of the Department of Homeland Security.
Shortly after taking office, Mullen It reflected Noem’s policy that her office approves any DHS expenditures in excess of $100,000 She has released more than $1 billion in grants and reimbursements accumulated from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to states, tribes and territories since she was sworn in last month.
A FEMA spokesperson told The Associated Press that while it does not comment on specific personnel actions, the agency is taking “targeted steps to stabilize our workforce and enhance preparedness.”
“Under new leadership, FEMA is addressing outstanding staffing procedures to ensure a stable workforce and a strong, deployable surge force for upcoming national events and potential disasters,” the spokesperson said.
The reinstated employees were among more than 190 current and former FEMA employees who signed the letter, known as the “Katrina Declaration,” but they were the only active employees who listed their names.
The statement called out several policy decisions made by President Donald Trump’s administration that the signatories said risked a catastrophe like the one we saw next. Hurricane Katrina. It specifically identified the $100,000 approval policy, along with DHS’s decision to reassign certain FEMA employees to work in Immigration and customsThe Administration’s failure to appoint a qualified FEMA administrator as required by law, and reductions in grants, training, and FEMA’s workforce.
The letter also called for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be taken out from under the Department of Homeland Security and returned to a Cabinet-level agency.
One day after its launch on August 25, the 14 employees had done just that Granting him indefinite paid administrative leave. They were reinstated in early December only to be furloughed again a day later. A DHS spokesman at the time blamed “bureaucrats acting outside their authority” for their reassignment.
McElreath, 24, said that this experience made her feel somewhat hesitant that their reinstatement would be permanent this time. However, she returned to work at the FEMA office in Maryland on Thursday, waiting to regain access to her work equipment. She called her time away a “waste of taxpayers’ money.”
Expected contract extensions also announced this week will apply to some of FEMA’s 10,000 limited-term disaster workers who make up nearly half of the agency’s staff.
The cadre of on-call response/recovery personnel, or CORE, works on two- to four-year assignments, though traditionally they are routinely replenished, a system that allows the agency to build and scale down its capacity as needed.
FEMA suddenly stopped renewing some of these CORE employee contracts at the beginning of 2026 as they expired, extending other contracts for only 90 days at a time. An email to some employees this week stated that COREs whose contracts expire between January and May and that previously had a 90-day extension “may be rehired for up to one year,” along with those whose contracts expire after May.
The email also said that “eligible” FEMA reservists would be renewed for two years. The contracts of the 7,000 reservists in the agency’s additional workforce expire on May 2.
“Our preparedness directly impacts our ability to help Americans in need, and every employee plays a critical role in meeting these challenges,” the email said.
While FEMA has not confirmed whether it will bring back CORE workers who have already been fired, a FEMA employee, who was not authorized to speak to the media and requested anonymity, told The Associated Press they know of at least one CORE employee who has been called back.
There is an ongoing lawsuit challenging the firings of hundreds of CORE employees between then and late January FEMA has temporarily suspended non-renewals.
McElrath said her concerns about the future of FEMA remain as the agency continues to operate without a permanent director and recovers from the record Department of Homeland Security shutdown that ended Thursday.
Trump On Thursday she signed the bill Which funds all aspects of DHS along with immigration enforcement. The bill would replenish FEMA’s disaster fund by more than $26 billion.
The president has repeatedly criticized FEMA and even threatened to abolish it entirely. Next week, a Trump-appointed Federal Emergency Management Agency review board will submit its report The highly anticipated and delayed recommendations report for months. He is expected to propose sweeping changes to the agency.