Current and former staff at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) have expressed relief and celebration following the firing of homeland security secretary Kristi Noem, who they say made the US more dangerous by micromanaging and shrinking the agency. Noem was dismissed by President Donald Trump on Thursday after a contentious tenure marked by criticism from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
Michael Coen, a former Fema chief of staff under Presidents Obama and Biden, said Noem’s micromanagement eroded Fema’s capability and withheld critical funding from states. A longtime Fema official, speaking anonymously, said: “Am I relieved she is gone? Yes. You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in Fema who isn’t on that spectrum from relieved to celebratory.”
During her year in office, Noem insisted on personally controlling staffing and spending at Fema, including a requirement that she approve all spending over $100,000. This policy reportedly delayed rescue operations during deadly floods in Texas last summer. Another anonymous Fema manager said: “All staff watched in horror while urban search and rescue resources were delayed … knowing these decisions affect whether people can reach help in a timely fashion and, in some cases, whether people live or die.”
Noem also sought to eliminate thousands of Fema staff and postponed billions in disaster reimbursements, with the agency’s backlog reaching $17bn last month. She had previously expressed support for getting “rid of Fema” and shifting disaster recovery to states. Trump defended Noem’s performance and reassigned her to be Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas.
Fema staff voiced concerns in an August open letter, warning that Noem’s overhaul could lead to a disaster on the scale of Hurricane Katrina. Colette Delawalla of Stand Up For Science, which coordinated the letter, said: “Noem showed a flagrant disregard for that dedication to the public in such an egregious way, and such a flagrant disregard for human life.” Trump announced Senator Markwayne Mullin as Noem’s successor.
