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is a senior science reporter covering energy and the environment with more than a decade of experience. She is also the host of Hell or High Water: When Disaster Hits Home, a podcast from Vox Media and Audible Originals.
FEMA has suspended at least 30 employees after they warned that spending limits, staffing cuts, and gaps in leadership hurt the agency’s ability to respond to disasters. The employees received emails notifying them that they’d been put on administrative leave on Tuesday night, according to The New York Times, which reviewed copies of the email. FEMA didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry from The Verge to confirm the suspensions or respond to allegations in the letter.
With the deadly July 4th flooding in Kerrville, Texas, “FEMA’s mission to provide critical support was obstructed by leadership who not only question the agency’s existence but place uninformed cost-cutting above serving the American people and the communities our oath compels us to serve,” the letter says.
This isn’t the first time the Trump administration has cracked down on federal employees who’ve voiced concerns about their agency’s ability to meet its mission. The Environmental Protection Agency placed 144 workers on administrative leave after they penned a letter to EPA administrator Lee Zeldin saying, “EPA under your leadership will not protect communities from hazardous chemicals and unsafe drinking water, but instead will increase risks to public health and safety.”
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