Multiple FEMA employees were placed on administrative leave after signing an open letter on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina that expressed outrage over budget cuts, personnel decisions and other Trump-era reforms. Signatories warned those reforms could recreate conditions that led to the widely criticised response to the 2005 hurricane. Nonprofit Stand Up for Science confirmed multiple signees were on leave and said the letter had over 190 signatories, many anonymous from fear of retaliation. Around 30 employees were suspended, reporting by The New York Times said. The episode follows a July EPA action that placed 139 employees on leave after criticizing Trump policies.
Some employees at the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have been put on leave after they signed an open letter a day earlier on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina expressing outrage over budget cuts, personnel decisions and other reforms enacted under President Donald Trump, which they say could recreate conditions that led to the widely criticised FEMA response to the 2005 hurricane.
The Stand Up for Science website said the letter had more than 190 signatories as of Tuesday evening, the majority signing anonymously due to fears of retaliation. Around 30 employees were suspended, The New York Times reported on Tuesday evening, citing their review of emails. Once again, we are seeing the federal government retaliate against our civil servants for whistleblowing which is both illegal and a deep betrayal of the most dedicated among us, Stand Up for Science said.
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