FEMA has suspended at least 30 employees after they warned that spending limits, staffing cuts, and gaps in management damage the company’s capability to reply to disasters. The workers acquired emails notifying them that they’d been placed on administrative depart on Tuesday night time, 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 offer 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 workers who’ve voiced considerations about their company’s capability 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 won’t shield communities from hazardous chemical substances and unsafe consuming water, however as a substitute will improve dangers to public well being and security.”
