"The judge said the plan, put together by DHS, appeared as if it was “pulled from thin air” and would impede FEMA’s ability to fulfill its legal obligations to respond to natural disasters."
"A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration broke the law when it ordered a 50 percent cut in Federal Emergency Management Agency employees, including thousands of on-call workers who respond to disasters.
The decision delivered a win for the union representing FEMA workers, which had argued in a lawsuit that slashing the workforce so dramatically would violate the agency’s independence and hamper its ability to fulfill its legal obligations to respond to natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires.
“Frankly, the FEMA staffing plan number appears as if pulled from thin air,” U.S. District Judge Susan Illston of the Northern District of California wrote in a ruling issued Friday."
Sammy Westfall and Brianna Sacks report for the Washington Post September 12, 2026.
