Some employees at the US Federal Emergency Management Agency were put on leave on Tuesday after they signed an open letter of dissent against the agency's leadership, according to the nonprofit group whose website published the letter.
The development is likely to fuel concerns that US President Donald Trump's administration does not tolerate dissent. In July, the US Environmental Protection Agency placed 139 employees on administrative leave after they signed a letter expressing criticism of Trump's policies.
“We can confirm multiple FEMA employees who publicly signed the Katrina Declaration have been placed on administrative leave,” nonprofit group Stand Up for Science said in an emailed statement. It did not specify how many employees were placed on administrative leave.
The Washington Post reported earlier that by Tuesday evening, FEMA's office of the administrator had sent several letters to people informing them that effective immediately, they were on administrative leave, “in a non-duty status while continuing to receive pay and benefits”.
Dozens of current and former staff at the US agency that responds to natural disasters warned Congress in a letter on Monday that the inexperience of top appointees of the Trump administration could lead to a catastrophe on the level of Hurricane Katrina.
The Stand Up for Science website said the letter had more than 190 signatories by Tuesday evening.
“Once again, we are seeing the federal government retaliate against our civil servants for whistle-blowing — which is both illegal and a deep betrayal of the most dedicated among us,” the group said.
The Trump administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment made outside regular working hours.
FEMA's press secretary said on Monday the agency has been bogged down by red tape and inefficiencies and the Trump administration “has made accountability and reform a priority”.
Roughly 2,000 FEMA employees, or a third of its workforce, have left the agency this year through firings, buyouts or early retirements. The Trump administration also plans to cut about $1bn in grant funding.
The protest letter was sent days before the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which caused catastrophic flooding in New Orleans and devastating destruction along the Gulf Coast in August 2005, claiming the lives of more than 1,800 people.
Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst natural disasters in US history, in part because of the ineffective response to it. Congress passed the Post-Katrina Emergency Reform Act in 2006 to give FEMA more responsibility.
The letter warned the Trump administration was undoing those reforms.
Reuters
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