FEMA has suspended at least 30 employees after they warned that spending limits, staffing cuts, and gaps in management harm the company’s skill to reply to disasters. The staff acquired emails notifying them that they’d been placed on administrative go away on Tuesday evening, according to The New York Times, which reviewed copies of the e-mail. FEMA didn’t instantly reply to an inquiry from The Verge to verify the suspensions or reply to allegations within the letter.
With the deadly July 4th flooding in Kerrville, Texas, “FEMA’s mission to supply important help was obstructed by management who not solely query the company’s existence however place uninformed cost-cutting above serving the American individuals and the communities our oath compels us to serve,” the letter says.
This isn’t the primary time the Trump administration has cracked down on federal staff who’ve voiced issues about their company’s skill to fulfill its mission. The Environmental Safety Company placed 144 workers on administrative leave after they penned a letter to EPA administrator Lee Zeldin saying, “EPA below your management is not going to defend communities from hazardous chemical substances and unsafe consuming water, however as an alternative will improve dangers to public well being and security.”