Senator Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs’ Subcommittee that includes oversight of FEMA, and Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the full committee led a group of Democratic Senators condemning proposed staffing cuts at FEMA that would risk the agency’s ability to fulfill its mandated duties supporting communities and protecting people’s lives and livelihoods. The Senators outlined the considerable damage already done by the Trump administration’s DOGE cuts, how Department of Homeland Security (DHS) mandated reductions violate congressional statute put in place to bolster FEMA’s disaster response after Hurricane Katrina, and specifically warned about any further cuts to critical On-Call Response/Recovery Employees (CORE).

“Reducing CORE employees at a time when FEMA’s workforce is already severely understaffed due to the Administration’s efforts to dismantle FEMA will only make our nation less prepared to help communities before, during, and after disasters,” wrote the Senators in a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. “Additionally, the personnel decisions your office has taken most certainly reduce FEMA’s ability to perform its mission, raising concerns about potential violations of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act (PKEMRA).”

The letter was signed by Senators Peter Welch (D-VT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

Text of Full Letter (PDF)

FEMA CORE employees make up approximately 40% of FEMA’s workforce and are deployed, as needed, to disaster areas to assist with response and recovery. In 2023, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that in recent years, the gap between planning staffing targets and actual levels grew to almost 35 percent deficits across various positions. The Senators outline, “Any gap, let alone a 35 percent shortfall in workforce target numbers, means that FEMA lacks the staff needed to properly respond to disasters. On top of this gap, the additional reductions reported by GAO in 2025 led the oversight watchdog to conclude ‘that a reduced number of staff across the same or a higher number of disasters nationwide could reduce the effectiveness of federal disaster response for upcoming disasters.’”

The Senators further outline how the Trump administration’s workforce reductions appear to violate PKEMRA, a requirement Congress imposed after DHS’s catastrophic interference in FEMA’s response to Hurricane Katrina that prohibits the DHS Secretary from substantially or significantly reducing FEMA’s authorities, responsibilities, or functions, or the capability of the agency to perform those missions, authorities, responsibilities. In the letter, the Senators make clear: “By unilaterally reducing the number of FEMA personnel, you are clearly hindering FEMA’s ability to perform its mission, in clear violation of statute.”