Judge Rules Trump Administration Violated Law in FEMA Workforce Cut Plan

A federal judge ruled Friday that the Trump administration violated federal law when the Department of Homeland Security directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to plan for a workforce reduction of roughly 50 percent. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston issued the decision in San Francisco, granting partial summary judgment to a coalition of labor unions and nonprofit organizations that challenged the staffing cuts. The ruling centers on FEMA's Cadre of OnCall Response-Recovery Employees, known as CORE workers, who are full-time disaster-response staff hired for renewable two- to four-year terms. Beginning in 2025, DHS began requiring FEMA to obtain approval for CORE renewals. At the start of 2026, FEMA did not renew employees whose terms expired, even when supervisors recommended renewal, until a severe winter storm in January prompted the agency to halt the separations. Illston found that DHS exceeded its authority by taking control of FEMA's renewal decisions and ordering a predetermined staffing reduction, violating the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act.