A US federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration's plan to halve the workforce of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was unlawful. District Judge Susan Illston found that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) illegally seized control of FEMA's staffing decisions and pushed through cuts to thousands of disaster-response jobs, violating a post-Hurricane Katrina law that bars DHS from substantially reducing FEMA's authorities or functions. The ruling is significant given the administration's broader push, backed by President Trump, to shrink or even eliminate FEMA and shift disaster response responsibilities to individual states.

Illston found DHS had acted without justification when it blocked FEMA from renewing contracts for thousands of on-call disaster reservists, and noted FEMA had projected staffing at 11,383 employees for the coming fiscal year, roughly half its previous level, with no clear basis for that figure. The judge did not set penalties or remedies, leaving those for a separate ruling next month, with both sides due to submit briefings by 9 October. Unions who brought the case argued the cuts, ordered by former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem rather than FEMA officials, lacked congressional approval and threatened the agency's core mission. Illston also criticised FEMA and DHS officials for discussing the cuts via the Signal messaging app and deleting the messages, saying she would presume the lost texts were unfavourable to the administration's case. FEMA said it remains ready for the 2026 hurricane season with experienced staff in place.