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FEMA employees placed on leave after claiming Trump leadership could spark next Hurricane Katrina
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Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employees who signed an open letter slamming the Trump administration’s leadership of the office have been placed on leave, with FEMA leadership subsequently slamming the «bureaucrats who presided over decades of inefficiency» for «objecting to reform.»
More than 190 current and former FEMA employees signed an open letter Monday criticizing the Trump administration, criticizing leaders they say lack the qualifications to oversee an agency focused on the nation’s preparation and response to disasters. The letter claimed a catastrophe on par with Hurricane Katrina could unfold due to the current climate of the office.
By Wednesday morning, more than a dozen FEMA employees who signed the letter were placed on leave, The Washington Post reported.
«It is not surprising that some of the same bureaucrats who presided over decades of inefficiency are now objecting to reform,» a FEMA spokesperson told Fox News Digital when asked about the letter and employees who were placed on leave. «Change is always hard. It is especially for those invested in the status quo, who have forgotten that their duty is to the American people, not entrenched bureaucracy.»
KENTUCKY GOVERNOR PRAISES FEMA UNDER TRUMP, SAYS ITS A ‘CREDIT TO HIS ADMINISTRATION’
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and President Donald Trump have publicly voiced dissatisfaction with FEMA since taking office earlier in 2025. (Getty Images/Alex Brandon)
The spokesperson did not reveal how many FEMA employees were placed on leave after the letter’s publication.
«Under the Biden administration, the American people were abandoned as disasters ravaged North Carolina and needed aid was denied based on party affiliation in Florida,» the spokesperson continued. «Our obligation is to survivors, not to protecting broken systems. Under the leadership of Secretary Noem, FEMA will return to its mission of assisting Americans at their most vulnerable.»
The nonprofit Stand Up for Science published the open letter Monday, directed to Congress, claiming FEMA is led by individuals who lack the «legal qualifications, Senate approval, and the demonstrated background» to oversee federal disaster preparation and response. The letter took direct aim at FEMA and Department of Homeland Security leaders such as Secretary Kristi Noem.
«Decisions made by FEMA’s Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Administrator (SOPDA) David Richardson, Former SOPDA Cameron Hamilton, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem erode the capacity of FEMA and our State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) partners, hinder the swift execution of our mission, and dismiss experienced staff whose institutional knowledge and relationships are vital to ensure effective emergency management,» the letter claimed.
SENATOR PETER WELCH: I’M A DEMOCRAT AND WE NEED TO FIX FEMA WITH LOCAL CONTROL
Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was one of the worst disasters to hit the United States in recent history, leading to 1,833 fatalities, more than $100 billion in damages and thousands of homeless New Orleanians, data from the National Weather Service shows. The letter claimed that such a disaster could rock the U.S. again due to the current state of the agency.
«Hurricane Katrina was not just a natural disaster, but a man-made one: the inexperience of senior leaders and the profound failure by the federal government to deliver timely, unified, and effective aid to those in need left survivors to fend for themselves for days, and highlighted how Black, Indigenous, and low-income communities are disproportionally affected by disasters,» the letter states.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S TEXAS FLOOD DISASTER RESPONSE ‘FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT’ FROM BIDEN’S APPROACH: NOEM
President Donald Trump visiting Texas after devastating flash flooding in July 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
«These failures prompted Congress to pass the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (PKEMRA), which introduced safeguards to ensure such shortcomings of disaster preparation and response would not be repeated,» it continued. «However, two decades later, FEMA is enacting processes and leadership structures that echo the conditions PKEMRA was designed to prevent.»
President Donald Trump and Noem have both expressed dissatisfaction with FEMA since taking their respective offices. Trump warned just days after his inauguration that the agency would face a reckoning over its failures to respond to the devastating floods that rocked North Carolina when Hurricane Helene ripped through the southeastern U.S. in September 2024.
NOEM SAYS CRITICISM OF FEDERAL RESPONSE TO TEXAS FLOODING IS ‘ALL POLITICS’: ‘DISSERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY’
«Get rid of FEMA the way it exists today,» Noem said in February on CNN when asked what she would advise Trump if he asked her to do away with the agency.
Both Noem and Trump have advocated for local officials — such as county emergency management directors, mayors, city council members and commissioners — to lead disaster preparation and response as opposed to federal leadership.
FEMA employees signed an open letter slamming the Trump administration’s leadership of the agency. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The letter published Monday included the full names of at least 35 former and current FEMA employees, while the majority were «unlisted» signatures.
Signatories took issue with six initiatives under the Trump administration specifically, including «reduction in capability of FEMA to perform its missions,» the «failure to appoint a qualified FEMA administrator,» the «reduction of FEMA’s disaster workforce» and «the censorship of climate science, environmental protection, and efforts to ensure all communities have access to information, resources.»
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FEMA is led by David Richardson, who replaced former acting FEMA chief Cameron Hamilton in May after Hamilton’s departure from the agency just days after telling members of Congress that he does not believe FEMA should be eliminated.
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INTERNACIONAL
Estados Unidos y Taiwán acuerdan reducir aranceles e impulsar compras de productos estadounidenses
Funcionarios de la administración Trump firmaron un acuerdo comercial recíproco definitivo que confirma una tasa arancelaria estadounidense del 15% para las importaciones provenientes de Taiwán, mientras compromete a Taiwán a un calendario para eliminar o reducir aranceles sobre casi todos los productos estadounidenses.
El documento divulgado el jueves por la oficina del Representante Comercial de EE.UU. también compromete a Taiwán a aumentar significativamente las compras de productos estadounidenses desde 2025 hasta 2029, incluyendo 44.400 millones de dólares en gas natural licuado y petróleo crudo, 15.200 millones de dólares en aeronaves civiles y motores, 25.200 millones de dólares en equipos y generadores para redes eléctricas, equipos marítimos y de producción de acero.
El acuerdo agrega un lenguaje técnico y detalles específicos a un marco comercial alcanzado por primera vez en enero que redujo los aranceles sobre bienes taiwaneses, incluidos los procedentes de su potente industria de semiconductores, al 15% desde el 20% inicialmente impuesto por Trump. Eso pone a Taiwán en igualdad de condiciones con sus competidores exportadores asiáticos más cercanos, Corea del Sur y Japón.
“Este es un momento decisivo para que la economía y las industrias de Taiwán aprovechen los vientos de cambio y experimenten una gran transformación”, escribió el presidente de Taiwán, Lai Ching-te, en su página de Facebook.
Optimizará el marco económico y comercial Taiwán–EE.UU., construirá cadenas de suministro industriales confiables y establecerá una asociación estratégica en alta tecnología entre Taiwán y EE.UU., añadió.
Taiwán también obtuvo exenciones de aranceles recíprocos para más de 2.000 partidas de productos exportados a Estados Unidos, lo que significa que el arancel promedio sobre exportaciones estadounidenses bajará al 12,33%, dijo Lai.
El acuerdo requerirá la aprobación del Parlamento de Taiwán, donde la oposición tiene mayoría.
El acuerdo de enero incluyó el compromiso de Taiwán de que sus empresas invertirían 250.000 millones de dólares para aumentar la producción de semiconductores, energía e inteligencia artificial en EE.UU., incluidos 100.000 millones de dólares ya comprometidos por Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. El gobierno taiwanés garantizaría otros 250.000 millones de dólares en inversiones en EE.UU., según dijo el Secretario de Comercio Howard Lutnick.
El texto final no brindó más detalles sobre esas inversiones, pero indicó que la oficina de representación de Taiwán en EE.UU. colaboraría con las autoridades estadounidenses para facilitar nuevas inversiones directas “en sectores estratégicos de manufactura de alta tecnología, incluidos IA, semiconductores y electrónica avanzada”.
El acuerdo eliminará de inmediato los aranceles de Taiwán de hasta el 26% sobre muchas importaciones agrícolas estadounidenses, incluyendo carne de res, lácteos y maíz. Pero algunos aranceles, como el actual 40% para panceta de cerdo y el 32% para jamón, solo bajarán al 10%, según el calendario arancelario.
EE.UU. señaló que, en virtud del acuerdo, Taiwán eliminará las barreras no arancelarias para vehículos de motor y aceptará las normas de seguridad automotriz estadounidenses, así como las aplicables a dispositivos médicos y productos farmacéuticos.
El Representante Comercial de EE.UU., Jamieson Greer, afirmó en un comunicado que el acuerdo incrementará las oportunidades de exportación para agricultores, ganaderos, pescadores, trabajadores e industriales estadounidenses.
“Este acuerdo también se basa en nuestra prolongada relación económica y comercial con Taiwán y mejorará significativamente la resiliencia de nuestras cadenas de suministro, en particular en los sectores de alta tecnología”, añadió Greer.
Durante los primeros 11 meses de 2025, el déficit comercial estadounidense con Taiwán se disparó a 126.900 millones de dólares desde 73.700 millones de dólares en todo 2024, en gran parte debido al fuerte incremento en importaciones de chips de IA de gama alta procedentes de Taiwán, según datos de la Oficina del Censo de EE.UU.
(C) Reuters.-
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DHS shutdown explained: Who works without pay, what happens to airports and disaster response
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A partial government shutdown is all but certain after Senate Democrats rejected attempts to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offered by Republicans on Thursday afternoon.
But it will not look like the record-long 43-day full shutdown that paralyzed Congress last year, nor will it look like the shorter four-day partial shutdown that hit Capitol Hill earlier this month. That’s because Congress has already funded roughly 97% of the government through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2026 on Sept. 30.
When the clock strikes 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14, just DHS will be affected by a lapse in its federal funding. While it’s a vastly smaller scale than other recent fiscal fights, it will still have an impact on a broad range of issues given DHS’s wide jurisdiction.
SCHUMER, DEMS CHOOSE PARTIAL SHUTDOWN AS NEGOTIATIONS HIT IMPASSE
A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer stands near a security checkpoint. (Michael Ciaglo / Getty Images)
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
Disruptions to the TSA, whose agents are responsible for security checks at nearly 440 airports across the country, could perhaps be the most impactful part of the partial shutdown to Americans’ everyday lives.
Acting Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill told lawmakers at a hearing on Wednesday that around 95% of TSA employees — roughly 61,000 people — are deemed essential and will be forced to work without pay in the event of a shutdown.
McNeill said many TSA agents were still recovering from the effects of the recent 43-day shutdown. «We heard reports of officers sleeping in their cars at airports to save money on gas, selling their blood and plasma, and taking on second jobs to make ends meet,» she said.
TSA paychecks due to be issued on March 3 could see agents getting reduced pay depending on the length of the shutdown. Agents would not be at risk of missing a full paycheck until March 17.
If that happens, however, Americans could see delays or even cancellations at the country’s busiest airports as TSA agents are forced to call out of work and get second jobs to make ends meet.
SHUTDOWN CLOCK TICKS AS SCHUMER, DEMOCRATS DIG IN ON DHS FUNDING DEMANDS
Coast Guard
The U.S. Coast Guard is the only branch of the Armed Forces under DHS rather than the Department of War, and as such would likely see reduced operations during a shutdown.
That includes a pause in training for pilots, air crews, and boat crews until funding is restarted.
Admiral Thomas Allan, Coast Guard Vice Commandant, warned lawmakers that it would have to «suspend all missions, except those for national security or the protection of life and property.»
A lapse in its funding would also result in suspended pay for 56,000 active duty, reserve, and civilian personnel, which Allan warned would negatively affect morale and recruitment efforts.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks at a press conference following the passage of government funding bills, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 30, 2026. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Secret Service
The U.S. Secret Service (USSS), which is critical to protecting the president and key members of the administration, is also under DHS’s purview.
While its core functions would be largely unaffected by a shutdown, some 94% of the roughly 8,000 people the service employs would be forced to work without pay until the standoff is resolved.
Deputy USSS Director Matthew Quinn also warned that a shutdown could also hurt the progress being made to improve the service in the wake of the July 2024 assassination attempt against President Donald Trump.
«The assassination attempt on President Trump’s life brought forward hard truths for our agency and critical areas for improvement — air, space, security, communications and IT infrastructure, hiring and retention training, overarching technological improvements,» Quinn said. «We are today on the cusp of implementing generational change for our organization. A shutdown halts our reforms and undermines the momentum that we, including all of you, have worked so hard to build together.»
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
ICE operations would largely go on unimpeded during a shutdown, despite Democrats’ outrage at the agency being the main driver of the current standoff.
Nearly 20,000 of ICE’s roughly 21,000 employees are deemed «essential» and therefore must work without pay, according to DHS shutdown guidance issued in September 2025.
But even though it’s the center of Democrats’ funding protest, ICE already received an injection of some $75 billion over the course of four years from Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). It means many of its core functions retain some level of funding even during a shutdown.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
CISA is responsible for defending critical U.S. sectors like transportation, healthcare, and energy from foreign and domestic threats.
The agency would be forced to reduce operations to an active threat mitigation status and activities «essential to protecting and protecting life and property,» according to Acting CISA Director Madhu Gottumukkala.
That means a shutdown would significantly reduce CISA’s capacity to proactively monitor for potential threats from foreign adversaries.
«We will be on the defensive, reactive as opposed to being proactive, and strategic in terms of how we will be able to combat those adversaries,» Gottumukkala said.
Operations like «cyber response, security assessments, stakeholder engagements, training, exercises, and special event planning» would all be impacted, he said.
A U.S. Secret Service police officer stands outside the White House the day after President Donald Trump announced U.S. military strikes on nuclear sites in Iran on June 22, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
FEMA, one of the largest recipients of congressional funding under DHS, would also likely see reduced operations if a shutdown went on for long enough.
The bright spot for the agency is that past congressional appropriations have left its Disaster Relief Fund (DRF), the main coffer used to respond to natural disasters throughout the U.S., with roughly $7 billion.
The DRF could become a serious problem if the DHS shutdown goes on for more than a month, however, or in the event of an unforeseen «catastrophic disaster,» an official warned.
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FEMA is also currently working through a backlog of responses to past natural disasters, progress that Associate Administrator of the Office of Response and Recovery Gregg Phillips said could be interrupted during a shutdown.
«In the 45 days I’ve been here…we have spent $3 billion in 45 days on 5,000 projects,» Phillips said. «We’re going as fast as we can. We’re committed to reducing the backlog. I can’t go any faster than we actually are. And if this lapses, that’s going to stop.»
politics,congress,government shutdown,homeland security
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