According to the article, Judge rules Trump administration order to fire FEMA staffers was illegal, a federal judge said in a recent filing that a Trump administration order for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to cut its staffing nearly in half was illegal.

In a decision that marked a critical victory for union workers in the ongoing lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in Northern California said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “acted arbitrarily and capriciously” when it revoked FEMA’s authority to renew contracts for the agency’s on-call disaster response teams. She also rebuked officials for deleting Signal messages that could have been used as evidence in the lawsuit.

The Cadre of On-Call Response and Recovery teams, known as CORE, makes up about 40 percent of FEMA’s workforce. The teams are often the first federal “boots on the ground” when hurricanes and other large disasters strike. Many of those workers oversee aid distribution and long-term funding to states and communities.

Traditionally, CORE workers have served two-to-four-year contracts that were almost always renewed. But amid an aggressive Trump administration effort to downsize the federal government in 2025, DHS limited FEMA to renewing these contracts to 180 days at a time while it considered a long-term plan to shrink the agency.

In January, DHS instructed FEMA to let at least some of those contracts lapse to force employees out as their terms expire.

The moves were part of a broader push by the Trump administration to overhaul FEMA, shrink its size and shift more responsibility for disaster response and recovery to the states. Since President Donald Trump took office, his administration has argued that the disaster relief agency is ineffective, partisan and bloated, despite a 2023 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that found the agency was facing a staffing shortfall of more than 6,000 employees.

While FEMA is a part of DHS, the U.S. Congress passed a law in 2006 that stated the homeland security secretary “may not substantially or significantly reduce” FEMA’s “authorities, responsibilities, or functions.”

Illston noted that DHS was exempt from Trump’s January 2025 hiring freeze, but the department then interpreted “new hires” under the hiring freeze to include FEMA CORE renewals.

Referring to the DHS decision to revoke FEMA’s authority to renew those CORE appointments, Illston wrote, “There is no evidence in the record reflecting reasoned decision for this about-face or for the subsequent conditions DHS placed on FEMA’s renewal authority.”

A FEMA spokesperson said in a statement the agency “continues to maintain a roster of experienced leadership and support staff across headquarters and regional offices.”

“We’re ensuring workforce stability and a strong, deployable force for upcoming national events and potential disasters; making the agency leaner, faster and laser-focused on supporting state, local, tribal and territorial partners before, during and after disasters,” the spokesperson said.

Judge Criticizes Use of Signal

In a separate filing, Illston said the use of Signal, a secure messaging app with robust privacy features, by former acting FEMA head Karen Evans and former DHS deputy chief of staff Joseph Guy violated federal law and department policy.

Evans created a Signal chat that “would appear to be highly relevant to this case” with the text messages set to auto-delete after four weeks, the judge wrote. In March, after she had been named a defendant in the lawsuit, Evans shortened the auto-delete timer.

Evans created a backup of her Signal messages on April 2026, “by which point the most timely messages were long since deleted,” Illston wrote. The court found that Evans’ actions were intentional.

“Evans should have known better,” Illston wrote. “She previously served as Chief Information Officer at DHS, in charge of the agency’s records preservation policies.”

The judge barred the administration from relying in future proceedings on any previous testimony that denies the plans to dramatically reduce FEMA staffing or DHS’ involvement in the issue.

In those additional proceedings, she wrote, “the Court will presume that the lost Signal messages would have been unfavorable to Defendants because they would have been further evidence of Defendants’ plan, DHS’s control, and Defendants’ implementing actions.”

The decisions are a win for the American Federation of Government Employees and the AFL-CIO, the labor unions that brought the lawsuit. But Illston didn’t address what remedies the government should provide, ordering the parties to come up with an agreement on the scope of relief.

The unions had sought the rescission of all non-renewal notices sent to CORE employees since the start of the year and to return employees to their positions, along with stopping the agency from implementing a plan to cut 50 percent of its staff.

But Illston noted that relief would be too broad because FEMA is no longer systemically not renewing the CORE contracts “and there is no indication at present that FEMA is otherwise taking action” on the plan to cut half of its workforce. But the judge said DHS “continues to usurp FEMA’s authority” by ordering the agency to offer contracts of up to 180 days.

Discussion Questions

  1. Describe the role, mission, responsibilities, and powers of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

    The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security whose mission is to help people before, during, and after disasters and emergencies. 

    FEMA’s responsibilities include:

    (a)  preparing communities for disasters; 
    (b)  coordinating the federal response to hurricanes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes, and other emergencies;
    (c)  providing financial assistance to eligible individuals and governments; 
    (d)  supporting disaster recovery and rebuilding; and 
    (e)  administering programs that reduce future disaster risks.

    FEMA has the authority to coordinate federal disaster-response resources, provide grants and assistance, deploy personnel and supplies, and distribute disaster aid when the U.S. president issues a major disaster or emergency declaration under federal law.

  2. As indicated in the article, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in Northern California held that the DHS “acted arbitrarily and capriciously” when it revoked FEMA’s authority to renew contracts for the agency’s on-call disaster response teams. What does it mean to act “arbitrarily and capriciously,” and why is that particularly important in terms of deciding whether an administrative agency, such as DHS, properly exercised its authority? 

    Legally, to act “arbitrarily and capriciously” means to decide without a reasonable basis, without adequately considering the relevant facts, or in a way that is irrational or inconsistent with law.

    This phrase is often used in reviewing actions by government agencies under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). A court may set aside an agency decision if the agency failed to consider important aspects of the issue, relied on factors the U.S. Congress did not intend it to consider, offered an explanation that contradicts the evidence, or made a decision that is so unreasonably that it cannot be justified.

    The “arbitrary and capricious” review standard is important in the administrative agency context because it helps to ensure that an agency is fulfilling its mission as established by Congress.

  3. Describe the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).

    The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is a labor union that represents federal government employees, including workers in agencies and departments throughout the federal government. The AFGE advocates for its members on issues such as wages, working conditions, workplace rights, benefits, and collective bargaining, and it represents employees in disputes with their federal employers.

    The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, or the AFL-CIO, is a national federal of labor unions that represents millions of workers through its affiliated unions. Rather than directly representing most workers like an individual union does, the AFL-CIO coordinates and supports affiliated unions, advocates for workers’ interests in public policy, and promotes labor rights, fair wages, workplace safety, and collective bargaining.

    The AFGE is an affiliated union of the AFL-CIO.