President Donald Trump’s administration is attempting to cut about 50 percent of the workforce at the nation’s emergency response agency, a new lawsuit alleges.
The complaint, filed on Tuesday by a group of unions, local governments and other interest groups, seeks to block alleged plans by the Trump administration to cut more than 10,000 roles at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. These cuts began on December 31 and will continue over the coming months, according to the lawsuit.
These cuts could violate “congressional protections designed to preserve FEMA’s independence and ensure it can carry out its statutory mission,” according to Democracy Forward, a non-profit legal organization representing some of the plaintiffs.
If allowed to proceed, these cuts could also leave FEMA “unable to adequately prepare for or respond to natural disasters and other emergencies, placing lives and property at risk and undermining the very purpose for which Congress created the agency,” Democracy Forward alleged in a statement.
When reached for comment, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told The Independent: “These are CORE program employees who have term-limited positions that are designed to FLUCTUATE based on disaster activity, operational NEED, and available funding.”
“We are confident that our staffing decisions are consistent with the program’s design and mission. FEMA’s National Response Coordination Center has been activated in response to a historic winter storm, in line with this mission FEMA is following standard protocol to ensure mission functions are being met,” the spokesperson said.
This complaint was filed as a supplement to a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal workforce, which was first brought in April 2025.
Documents reviewed by The New York Times similarly indicated more than 11,000 FEMA jobs could be impacted, but FEMA spokesperson Daniel Llargués told the outlet it was part of “a routine, pre-decisional work force planning exercise.” There was no “percentage-based work force reduction plan,” he added.
CNN also reported in December that FEMA could cut half its workforce, citing an internal email sent to top agency officials. At the time, a FEMA spokesperson told CNN the White House and DHS did not approve these cuts, and that the 50 percent figure was included in error.
Trump has repeatedly called for significant changes to FEMA over the past year, and even suggested shortly after taking office that his administration could recommend the agency “go away.”
Shortly after taking office, Trump also signed an executive order establishing the “Federal Emergency Management Agency Review Council” to consider how to change the agency. But plans to overhaul FEMA still appear to be in limbo, The Times reports.
Meanwhile, FEMA has faced recent criticism over its disaster responses. Last year, the agency was subject to heavy scrutiny over its response to the deadly flash floods in Texas, which killed over 100 people.
