WASHINGTON — At least 21 Federal Emergency Management Agency employees have been put on administrative leave after they signed an open letter criticizing the Trump administration's disaster preparedness and response capabilities, the founder of the organization behind the letter confirmed to NBC News.

Colette Delawalla, who is also the executive director of the group, Stand Up for Science, said Wednesday that two of the employees who were placed on leave were working in Kerr County, Texas, on the ongoing response to the devastating floods in July when they learned they were placed on leave.

The letter, which began by emphasizing the overhaul of FEMA after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, was signed by nearly 200 of the agency's employees, about three dozen of whom used their names. It

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