FEMA hiring overhaul drives fears of agency dismantling as hurricane season nears [View all]
Source: CBS News
Updated on: March 22, 2025 / 4:58 PM EDT
After firing more than 200 probationary workers from the nation's federal disaster relief agency, the Trump administration has taken its first step to dismantle the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) just months ahead of hurricane season.
In an email labeled, "Hiring Update" and obtained by CBS News, FEMA informed employees on Friday night of a new hiring process that overhauls contract renewals for more than two-thirds of the agency's workforce, requiring all employees to submit requests for further extensions to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for approval.
The decision has created confusion among the ranks of thousands of employees impacted, with fears that the new process will effectively gut the majority of FEMA's workforce over the next two to four years by forcing employees to reapply for their jobs through the agency's overseers at DHS.
Spurred by President Trump's executive action last month directing the Department of Government Efficiency or "DOGE" to initiate large-scale reductions in the federal workforce, the new policy affects members of the agency's Cadre of On-Call Response known as "CORE" as well as FEMA's reservists. "This change will apply to most FEMA positions, as two-year and four-year COREs and Reservists compose much of the workforce," the email read.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fema-hiring-overhaul-fear-agency-gutting-hurricane-season-trump/
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