# The plan to cut FEMA in half was illegal

> A federal judge found DHS seized control of FEMA's staffing and tried to halve the disaster agency without Congress.
- Title: The plan to cut FEMA in half was illegal · Newsweek | Shortify
- Summary: A federal judge found DHS seized control of FEMA's staffing and tried to halve the disaster agency without Congress. Congress made FEMA's independence inside…
- Keywords: fema, disaster response, courts, federal workforce, dhs, plan, cut, half, illegal, Newsweek
- Source: Newsweek — https://newsweek.com/federal-judge-says-trump-plan-to-halve-fema-workforce-was-unlawful-12435762
- Published: 2026-09-12T19:52:27+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: fema, disaster response, courts, federal workforce, dhs
## A judge called it unlawful
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ruled Friday in a 32-page order that the Trump administration broke the law last year by stripping FEMA of control over its own personnel decisions.

> acted unlawfully in usurping FEMA's authority over its personnel
## 23,000 down to 11,500
DHS directed a plan to cut FEMA's workforce roughly in half and blocked the renewal of hundreds of temporary disaster-response workers. Federal employee unions sued.
## FEMA's own people objected
Court documents say DHS officials pushed through a staffing plan with a 50 percent cut over the objections and analysis of FEMA supervisors, including its chief human capital officer.

> submit a FEMA annual staffing plan that included a 50% cut, over the objections and analyses of FEMA's own supervisors
## Trump wanted states to carry it
The president has argued states should own disaster preparedness and has floated eliminating FEMA entirely as part of a restructuring of federal disaster management.

> I think, frankly, FEMA is not good.
## Deleted Signal messages backfired
In a separate ruling, Illston faulted officials for using Signal on personal phones and deleting messages about the cuts. She said the court will assume the lost texts hurt their case.

> the lost Signal messages would have been unfavorable to Defendants
## Katrina wrote the rulebook
After Katrina killed more than 1,300 people, Congress made FEMA a distinct entity inside DHS, gave it control of its own staffing, and barred DHS from shrinking its functions without lawmakers.

> far too bureaucratic to support the response to a catastrophe
## No penalty yet
The ruling ordered no remedies. If the two sides cannot agree, they file a joint list of open disputes by October 9, and Illston decides on relief later. Hurricane season is still running.
## Key takeaway

Congress made FEMA's independence inside DHS a matter of law after Katrina, and a court just enforced it against a 50 percent staffing cut.