On September 12, 2026, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ruled that the Trump administration acted unlawfully when the Department of Homeland Security directed FEMA to reduce its workforce by 50 percent, finding the agency's autonomy over personnel decisions was violated.
No BS check run yet — press ⚖ to extract this story's claims and verify them against independent sources.
US judge rules that Trump plan to halve FEMA workforce violated law reuters.com
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston wrote the U.S. Department of Homeland Security acted unlawfully by usurping FEMA's authority over its own personnel.
A federal judge determined Friday that the Trump administration broke the law when it attempted to cut the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) workforce, a ruling which coincided with America's hurricane season. In her order, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “unlawfully usurped the authority” of FEMA “to make...
A federal judge ruled Friday that the Trump administration acted unlawfully when the Department of Homeland Security directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to prepare a plan to cut its staff by 50%. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said DHS usurped FEMA’s authority over its personnel and violated congressional protections intended to preserve the agency’s disaster-response responsibilit