A U.S. judge ruled that the Trump administration unlawfully directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to pursue a 50% staffing reduction, finding that the Department of Homeland Security usurped authority Congress had assigned to FEMA after Hurricane Katrina. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said DHS officials, then led by Secretary Kristi Noem, ordered FEMA to submit the plan despite objections from agency supervisors. The cuts were ultimately not carried out, although FEMA suffered thousands of departures, disruptions to grant programs and delays in disaster aid; some dismissed staffers were later rehired. Illston did not impose a specific remedy and directed the parties to negotiate relief. FEMA said it was preparing a stable, deployable workforce for the 2026 hurricane season. A May FEMA review panel withdrew a draft recommendation for a 50% workforce cut and instead called for a strategic review of staffing, while the Government Accountability Office said 2025 departures weakened institutional knowledge and workforce capacity.