Federal Judge Rules Trump Plan to Halve FEMA Workforce Violated Law

NewsData.io · United States · Sep 13, 2026

A U.S. District Judge in San Francisco ruled that the Department of Homeland Security acted unlawfully by directing FEMA to cut its workforce by roughly half, finding the move violated a post-Katrina law barring DHS from significantly reducing FEMA's authorities or functions. The ruling targeted DHS's decision to block FEMA from renewing temporary contracts for thousands of on-call disaster-response reservists, bringing projected staffing to approximately 11,383 employees. Remedies and penalties will be addressed in a separate ruling next month. The case signals ongoing legal turbulence around federal workforce reductions, with potential ripple effects for emergency-management staffing and government contractor markets.