A group of current and former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employees warned Monday that the Trump administration is weakening the disaster response agency’s capacity and preventing it from carrying out its mission.

The 181 current and former staffers particularly pointed to an administration policy requiring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to conduct a “personal review and approval of all contracts, grants and mission assignments over $100,000.”

They said that this “reduces FEMA’s authorities and capabilities to swiftly deliver our mission.”

“Consequences of this manual review became tragically clear during the July 2025 floods in Kerrville, Texas, when mission assignments were delayed up to 72 hours; FEMA’s Urban Search and Rescue Branch Chief resigned, citing the

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