FEMA whistleblowers who had been placed on leave after warning that the agency wasn’t prepared for disasters under Kristi Noem have returned.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, NBC News reported Thursday, has invited back at least 15 of the 192 current and former staffers who signed the “Katrina Declaration” letter to Congress last August. In the letter, they claimed the Trump administration was undoing emergency response systems put in place after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The following day, staffers were put on indefinite leave, but were able to retain their pay and benefits.
A FEMA spokesperson told NBC that the agency wouldn’t comment on specific personnel moves, but was “addressing outstanding personnel actions.”
“As we approach the 2026 hurricane season and the FIFA World Cup, FEMA is taking targeted steps to stabilize our workforce and strengthen readiness,” the spokesperson said. “Under new leadership, FEMA is addressing outstanding personnel actions to ensure workforce stability and a strong, deployable surge force for upcoming national events and potential disasters. FEMA remains committed to operational readiness for all major challenges in 2026.”
The Daily Beast has also reached out to FEMA and the White House for comment. A representative for Noem did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
DHS confirmed the staffers’s work return plans in an email to New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim.
“All employees associated with this matter were placed on paid administrative leave and were offered a return to duty status effective April 30, 2026,” Wednesday’s email read.
One whistleblower told NBC that his experience at work on Thursday felt “weird.”
“It seems random and it’s really not clear what sparked this,” said FEMA statistician James Stroud. “And it’s so wild that we have been paid to do nothing for eight months. This just seems like such an obvious thing that never should have happened.”
Donald Trump fired Noem in March amid several controversies, including her policy of personally signing off on expenditures over $100,000—one which the signatories of the Katrina Letter objected to. The policy, which was blamed for the delayed aid during the deadly Texas floods last summer, is no longer in effect under Noem’s replacement, former Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin.
Noem is now the U.S. special envoy for the Shield of the Americas, an anti-cartel alliance that Trump announced when he fired her.
