By Tim Reid

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Nearly three dozen staff at the U.S. agency that responds to natural disasters warned Congress in a letter on Monday that the inexperience of the Trump administration’s top appointees could lead to a catastrophe on the level of Hurricane Katrina.

The letter signed by 35 named employees at the Federal Emergency Management Agency said the agency’s current leaders, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and acting FEMA director David Richardson, lack the qualifications to manage natural disasters and are eroding its ability to respond to hurricanes and other emergencies.

Noem’s requirement that she review all contracts and grants over $100,000 “reduces FEMA’s authorities and capabilities to swiftly deliver our mission,” the letter states.

It as

See Full Page