Federal Judge Rules Trump DHS Plan for 50% FEMA Staffing Cut Unlawful

A US federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration’s plan to cut staffing at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) by 50% was unlawful, delivering a major victory to labour groups challenging efforts to shrink the federal workforce.

US District Judge Susan Illston said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) violated congressional protections designed to preserve FEMA’s independence and prevent the department from substantially reducing the agency’s functions.

The ruling, issued late Friday, stemmed from a broader lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Government Employees and other labour organisations against the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce federal staffing.

‘Pulled From Thin Air’: Judge Questions FEMA Staffing Cut

According to Illston, senior DHS officials directed FEMA leadership late last year to submit a staffing plan that called for a 50% workforce reduction, despite objections from the agency’s own supervisors.

“Frankly, the FEMA staffing plan number appears as if pulled from thin air,” Illston wrote in her opinion.

The judge said federal officials had clearly violated rules established following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which placed decisions over FEMA’s staffing levels with the agency itself rather than DHS.

Those provisions also prohibit DHS from “substantially” reducing FEMA’s functions.

Illston did not order a specific remedy. Instead, she directed the two sides to meet and determine how the ruling should be implemented.

50% FEMA Cut Was Never Fully Implemented

Although FEMA has undergone significant staff departures and terminations, the proposed 50% reduction was ultimately not carried out.

The agency has also begun rehiring some workers who were previously dismissed following leadership changes at FEMA and DHS in recent months.

FEMA has been among the federal agencies targeted as part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to reduce the size of government. The agency has faced mass staff departures, disruptions to grant programmes and delays in disaster assistance.

Neither DHS nor FEMA immediately responded to requests for comment on the ruling.

FEMA Review Council Softened Workforce-Cut Recommendation

In May, a Trump-appointed FEMA Review Council issued a final report recommending sweeping changes to the way the agency provides disaster assistance to states, tribes and territories.

The final report dropped an explicit recommendation to cut FEMA’s workforce by 50%, a proposal that had appeared in a December 2025 draft reviewed by The Associated Press.

Instead, the council recommended that FEMA conduct a “strategic review” to determine appropriate staffing levels.

GAO Warns of Loss of FEMA Expertise

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has also raised concerns about the impact of FEMA’s workforce reductions.

In an August report, the GAO said the departure of thousands of FEMA employees in the 2025 budget year resulted in a “loss of institutional knowledge and experienced personnel” and worsened longstanding workforce challenges.

More than 4,300 FEMA employees—about 17% of the agency’s workforce—left during the 2025 budget year, including more than 1,500 through voluntary reductions. FEMA also hired roughly 2,900 new employees during the period.

The GAO has recommended that Congress consider requiring FEMA to base major workforce decisions on a more strategic planning process.

Without such a process, the watchdog said, “FEMA cannot be assured that the agency is positioned to effectively meet its mission needs.”