More than 180 current and former employees of the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have published a letter warning that debilitating cuts to the agency charged with handling the federal disaster response risk a catastrophe like the one seen after Hurricane Katrina.

The letter , sent on Monday and signed by 35 named FEMA employees and 146 unnamed signatories, was a rare airing of internal dissent at the agency.

It said the agency’s current leaders, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary, Kristi Noem, and acting FEMA director David Richardson, lacked the qualifications to manage natural disasters and were eroding its ability to respond to hurricanes and other emergencies.

“Our shared commitment to our country, our oaths of office, and our

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