(Washington) The US government has placed on forced leave on Tuesday several employees of the natural disasters (FEMA), according to the media, which had publicly criticized the Trump administration.
In an open letter to the congress sent on Monday, 20 years after the devastating passage of the hurricane Katrinanearly 200 employees, current or old, notably denounced “the reduction of FEMA capacities to carry out its missions” to the populations affected, with the freezing decided by the minister of guardianship, Kristi Noem, on the main expenses of the agency.
Since his return to the White House in January, Donald Trump has repeatedly said that she wanted to delete FEMA, saying that he would prefer to see American states “take care of their own problems”.
Wednesday morning, 191 people had signed this open letter, but only around thirty of them had agreed to let their name appear.
“About 30” employees were suspended, said the New York Times Tuesday evening.
According to the Washington Postseveral employees have received emails informing them of their immediate placement on administrative leave, “while continuing to be paid and receive the advantages”.
Virginia Case, employee of FEMA, told CNN to have received an email informing him of the news. “I’m disappointed, but not surprised,” she said.
I am also proud of those who have taken a stand, without worrying about the consequences for our jobs. The public deserves to know what’s going on, because if it continues, lives and communities will suffer from it.
Virginia Case, FEMA employee
This letter, entitled “Katrina Declaration”, was sent 20 years after the hurricane which devastated the south of the United States-in particular Louisiana-in August 2005, and left more than 1,800 dead.
The immediate response of the federal authorities had caused a lively controversy, in particular due to confused communication and the delays taken in the provision of aid to the populations displaced by the floods.
The following year, the Congress had adopted a law, called “Pkemra”, to improve the management of natural disasters.
The signatories hope that their letter “arrives in time to prevent not only another national disaster like the hurricane Katrinabut also the effective dissolution of FEMA itself and the abandonment of American populations that such an event would represent ”.
They also emphasize that a third of FEMA staff have left the agency this year, in particular due to the budget cuts ordered under the aegis of the Doge of Elon Musk commission.
