Inside Trump’s push to smother FEMA

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is facing the prospect of deep staff cuts next year, according to internal documents that raise new questions on the Trump administration’s plans for disaster response.

The Washington Post reports that internal Department of Homeland Security emails and spreadsheets lay out proposals to eliminate thousands of jobs tied directly to disaster recovery and response. 

The cuts, according to three people briefed on the plans, would be phased in throughout 2026.

The first move appears to have already happened on New Year’s Eve, when roughly 65 positions were eliminated from FEMA’s Cadre of On-Call Response and Recovery, known as CORE. 

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Those employees are often among the first deployed after natural disasters, and many remain embedded in affected communities for years. Independent journalist Marisa Kabas and CNN first reported the initial round of cuts.

A FEMA spokesperson did not immediately respond to Daily Kos’ request for comment, but told the Post that those layoffs were unrelated to the broader planning described in the leaked emails. 

Indeed, the documents reviewed by the Post suggest that something much larger is taking shape.

One spreadsheet circulated among senior FEMA officials proposes cutting 41% of CORE roles, amounting to more than 4,300 jobs. Another outlines an 85% reduction in surge staffing, which includes standby workers deployed immediately after disasters. That would eliminate nearly 6,500 positions. 

Taken together, CNN reports, FEMA’s workforce could shrink by more than half—or more than 11,500 jobs—by the next fiscal year beginning in October.

CORE positions are typically renewed every two to four years, a routine process reflecting the length of recovery work. But emails reviewed by the Post show that, in mid-December, DHS stripped FEMA of its authority to renew those contracts independently. Instead, renewals now require review by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

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But DHS has tried to wave the whole thing off. A FEMA spokesperson told the Post that the agency has “not issued and is not implementing a percentage-based workforce reduction” and instead characterized the documents as a “routine, pre-decisional planning exercise” required by federal guidance.

That assurance rings hollow to former FEMA officials. Two former senior leaders told the Post that Noem has long pushed to shrink FEMA—and, relatedly, CORE staffing—and has been a ringleader in helping shape the current proposals. 

Internal emails also point to what one person familiar with the documents called “deliberate” discussions about retaining staff who are deemed “absolutely necessary.”

Former acting FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton warned that cuts of this scale would almost certainly slow aid to disaster survivors. Fewer federal workers on the ground would force states to take on more responsibility while navigating a complex federal aid system, which the Trump administration has also promised to overhaul.

The potential layoffs fit into a broader effort by the Trump administration to shrink FEMA and shift disaster response to the states. 

Since Trump returned to office, administration officials have repeatedly portrayed the agency as bloated and ineffective.

DHS said that it terminated 50 employees on Jan. 2, calling the move “a routine staff adjustment.” But internal documents point to something far more consequential. 

If carried out, these cuts won’t be felt most acutely in Washington, but by communities still struggling to recover from devastation.

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