Current and former Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) staff are celebrating the firing of homeland security secretary Kristi Noem, whom they accuse of making the US more dangerous through micromanagement and budget cuts. Noem was dismissed on Thursday after a contentious tenure marked by efforts to shrink Fema, the nation's primary disaster response agency.
Michael Coen, a former Fema chief of staff, said Noem's leadership eroded the agency's capability and withheld critical funding from states and communities. A current Fema official, speaking anonymously, said staff reactions ranged from relieved to celebratory. Another described Noem as a 'singularly destructive force' whose incompetence will be felt for years.
Noem required personal approval for all spending over $100,000, which reportedly delayed rescue crews during deadly floods in Texas last summer. She also sought to eliminate thousands of Fema jobs and postponed billions in disaster reimbursements, resulting in a $17bn backlog. Last year, she voiced support for abolishing Fema entirely, shifting responsibilities to states.
An open letter from Fema staff in August warned that Noem's policies risked a disaster on the scale of Hurricane Katrina. Some signatories were later placed on leave. Despite her firing, President Donald Trump praised Noem's performance and reassigned her as Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas. Republican senator Markwayne Mullin has been named as her successor.
