Article ID: f14d07c319f15a8f51de5429465842371a8daef5475064da804329035b4375c4
Source ID: secondary:businessinsurance.com
Published At: -
Extraction Method: bs4_heuristic
URL: https://www.businessinsurance.com/trump-plan-to-halve-fema-workforce-violated-law-judge/
Body Text
Trump plan to halve FEMA workforce violated law: Judge - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Trump plan to halve FEMA workforce violated law: Judge Catastrophes , Regulation Sep 14, 2026 (Reuters) — A U.S. judge has ruled that the Trump administration broke the law by ordering the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cut its workforce in half. U.S. District Judge S us an Illston in San Francisco in a decision issued late Friday said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security acted un law fully by usurping FEMA’s authority over its own personnel and steering the agency to cut tho us ands of disaster-response jobs. While FEMA is part of DHS, a federal law adopted after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 says the department “may not substantially or significantly reduce ( FEMA ‘s) authorities, responsibilities, or functions.” Agreeing with unions that sued, Judge Illston said the department violated the law when it moved last year to stop FEMA from renewing the temporary contracts of tho us ands of on-call reservists who respond to disasters. “There is no evidence in the record reflecting reasoned decision-making for this about-face or for the subsequent conditions DHS placed on FEMA ’s renewal authority,” Judge Illston wrote. Friday’s ruling did not include remedies or penalties. Judge Illston, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, wrote those would be addressed in a separate ruling next month and said the parties may submit briefings on the scope of relief she should provide to the unions. FEMA and DHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday. D emocracy Forward, a left-leaning group that represents the plaintiffs in the case, applauded the ruling in a statement. “Congress created FEMA to operate with independence, given its mission to prepare and respond quickly when disasters arise,” said Skye Perryman, the group’s president and CEO. The unions in January amended a law suit they had filed last year that more broadly challenged mass layoffs initiated by the Trump administration. The plan ned cuts at the emergency management agency are un law ful, the unions say, beca us e they would undermine its core disaster‑response mission, were not approved by Congress, and were ordered by former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem rather than initiated within FEMA itself. The Trump administration has argued that FEMA has considerable flexibility to decide proper staffing levels. President Donald Trump previo us ly has suggested that FEMA should be abolished and that states should be responsible for their emergency preparedness. President Trump last year created a council to review the agency’s operations. Judge Illston in June declined to immediately block the job cuts, finding that FEMA had at least temporarily backed away from its plan s. But she wrote on Friday that FEMA appeared to be moving ahead with the cuts. FEMA projected its staffing levels for the upcoming fiscal year at 11,383 employees, or approximately half of prior levels, without any basis for choosing that number, Judge Illston said. The judge in a separate decision also faulted FEMA and DHS officials for us ing the Signal messaging app on their personal cell phones to communicate about staffing cuts and deleting the messages. Judge Illston said those messages would have been relevant to the law suit and that moving forward she would presume “that the lost Signal messages would have been unfavorable to Defendants beca us e they would have been further evidence” of un law ful conduct. Related News Howden given extension in Brown & Brown lawsuit September 14, 2026 Appeals court backs insurer’s reality-show exclusion in ‘My 600-lb Life’ fight September 14, 2026 Brown & Riding launches agribusiness practice September 14, 2026 Transit loses appeal of religious accommodation verdict in vaccine case September 14, 2026 Baldwin going private in latest big brokerage deal September 14, 2026 Zurich off the hook for covering auto dealer settlement September 14, 2026 Pop art, price tag, plot twist September 14, 2026 National Safety Council launches training platform September 14, 2026 CRC promotes Chris Grady to president, specialty and benefits September 14, 2026 Facebook-f X-twitter Linkedin-in Business Insurance is a singular, authoritative news and information source for executives focused upon risk management, risk transfer and risk financing. Never miss important news: Become a Business Insurance Online subscriber today Subscribe Now Information About Us Contact Advertise Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions Copyright 2026. BUSINESS INSURANCE HOLDINGS Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
Metadata (JSON)
{
"score": 16.805
}