FEMA Reinstates More Than A Dozen Employees It Placed On Leave Last Year

Last edited Fri May 1, 2026, 10:24 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: Huff Post/Reuters

Apr 30, 2026, 08:15 PM EDT


WASHINGTON, April 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency has reinstated more than a dozen employees whom it placed on leave in August last year after they signed a public letter of dissent against the agency’s leadership and its policies.

The reinstatement was confirmed on Thursday by a U.S. lawmaker and a non-profit group whose website published the letter.

Non-profit group Stand Up for Science said that “all signers who are placed on administrative leave have been given the return to work order.” The action that FEMA, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, took last year led to concerns that President Donald Trump’s administration was intolerant of dissent, as Trump installed loyalists in leadership roles in an attempt to reshape U.S. agencies after taking office in early 2025.

Democratic U.S. Senator Andy Kim, who had advocated for the reinstatement of the workers, said he had made his case to the new DHS chief. The reinstatement was first reported by NBC News which cited a DHS email exchange with the senator. U.S. media outlets also cited some of the reinstated employees, with one of them saying she felt “vindicated.”

Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fema-reinstates-workers_n_69f3eee9e4b0db8899bc0822