Pallone: Trump Admin Punished FEMA Whistleblowers Twice for Telling the Truth

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) today condemned the Trump Administration for abruptly re-suspending 14 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employees who had been briefly reinstated after sounding the alarm about the collapse of the nation’s disaster response system.

“This is retaliation in plain sight. These FEMA professionals warned Congress that Trump and Noem are tearing down the agency that protects Americans in a crisis and his administration punished them twice for telling the truth. It shows an administration that is more interested in silencing experts than preparing for the next disaster. And it puts every coastal state, including New Jersey, at real risk. FEMA can’t function when political loyalty matters more than saving lives. These workers should be back on the job immediately and DHS needs to explain this mess,” said Pallone. 

The 14 workers were suspended in August after signing a letter to Congress known as the Katrina Declaration. The letter warned President Trump’s and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s policies were gutting critical reforms to FEMA’s ability to respond to emergencies put in place by Congress after Hurricane Katrina in 2006. Last week, FEMA notified the employees that they were cleared to return to work. Senior political appointees at the Department of Homeland Security reversed that decision once the reinstatements became public.