On the eve of the nationwide “No Kings” protests, a group of disgruntled current and former employees from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), along with several administrators and directors, gathered to voice their opposition to President Donald Trump’s proposed restructuring of the agency.

This stance stands in stark contrast to actions during the Biden administration, where a deputy director expressed concerns about Trump’s plans. However, during Biden’s tenure, the response team faced criticism for neglecting American citizens, especially in red states, who suffered through disasters. Notably, FEMA, in the wake of Hurricane Milton in 2024, was accused of bypassing homes in Florida that displayed political signs favoring Trump or Vance, or that supported pro-Second Amendment views, which supposedly triggered FEMA staffers.

An exclusive report by Racket News revealed a review from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Privacy. This investigation highlighted a pattern of similar incidents over several years, which former FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell dismissed as “isolated.” However, the findings of this review, not yet publicly available due to a shutdown led by Schumer, raise questions about why these dissenters oppose Trump’s reforms. Their objections seem to stem solely from the fact that Trump is the one implementing the changes, as evidenced by the protest’s objectives: to support staff acting as a form of resistance. A letter of dissent was sent to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem concerning the cuts to FEMA programs and staffing. The staffers involved, placed on paid administrative leave, claim this action was illegal and have filed a lawsuit, yet continue to receive taxpayer-funded salaries for their dissent.

It is somewhat ironic, as some of the eliminated programs were either designed to support illegal immigration, climate change initiatives, or were redundant. Additionally, like the responders to Hurricanes Milton and Helene, these departments seemed more focused on following their own agendas and incurring costs rather than aiding those affected by natural disasters.

“It’s clear these disasters are becoming more frequent and more intense,” Jeremy Edwards, the agency’s deputy director of public affairs under President Joe Biden, said at the rally. “Our country needs FEMA now more than ever. And right now, FEMA needs us, too.”

The fact that a deputy director under the Biden administration felt as though he needed to warn about Trump’s revamping of FEMA runs counter to the fact that while Edwards was doing his public affairs work, the response team utterly disregarded the Americans, particularly those in red states, who were suffering under the disasters which occurred on Biden’s watch. It was Biden’s FEMA that in the aftermath of 2024’s Hurricane Milton was exposed for skipping over homes in Florida that had Trump/Vance political signs or exhibited pro-2A stances that triggered FEMA staffers. 

In an exclusive with Racket News, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Privacy issued a review from an investigation which outlined a distinct pattern of these occurrences over a period of years, that former FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell claimed was just an “isolated incident.” 

The Democrats generally maintained that decisions to skip over houses featuring Trump signs or signs about guns were legit and safety-based. Republicans blasted FEMA workers for comparing Trump voters to “vicious dogs” and suggested instructions like “Per leadership no stop Trump flag,” and “Trump sign, no contact per leadership” were indicative of a wider problem.

A year later, the Privacy Office of the Department of Homeland Security is releasing a review of that episode, the broader issue of using disaster relief work to collect political intelligence on voters, and the potentially withholding of benefits from some with the wrong beliefs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the new administration found more than just one “isolated incident,” describing violations of the Privacy Act of 1974, which with a few exceptions bars collection of information about First Amendment-protected speech, like political signage. Most tellingly, though, DHS investigators found — in a near-exact parallel to trends in pro-censorship programs — that a lot of the political controversy surrounding FEMA aid grew out of the vague way in which the agency’s Disaster Survivor Assistance Field Operations Guide was written.

So, in light of this review, which thanks to the Schumer’s shutdown has not been made publicly available, what good reason do these handful of malcontents have for opposing Trump revamping the agency? Like the Free Palestine geniuses, there is no good reason except it is Trump who is doing the dismantling. This is clearly shown by the “aims” of the protest: support for the staff acting as the resistance arm. Because of a letter of dissent addressed to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem over the cuts to FEMA programs and staffers. These staffers were placed on paid administrative leave, but are now claiming that this was an illegal move and they filed suit. They are still being well-paid by the taxpayer to maintain their dissent. Nice work if you can get it.  

The demonstration also was a call to support FEMA staff members who have been on paid administrative leave for nearly two months after signing a public letter of dissent in August. That letter criticized Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other Trump officials for cutting staff and programs.

It is laughable, because some of the programs were eliminated because they were either specifically designed to fund the care and maintenance of illegal immigrants, climate change initiatives and training, were duplicative of efforts, or because, like the staffers responding to Hurricanes Milton and Helene, these departments were more interested in doing things their way and racking up expenses rather than doing the job of helping victims affected by natural disasters. 

In August, Noem fired a dozen IT staffers, not because they were critical of the administration, but because they refused to follow security protocols or to correct flaws in security to avoid breaches. As my colleague streiff reported.

The entrenched bureaucrats who led FEMA’s IT team for decades resisted any efforts to fix the problem. Instead, they avoided scheduled inspections and lied to officials about the scope and scale of the cyber vulnerabilities. 

Savage: Trump Diverts Biden’s FEMA Funds for Illegals to Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Detention Center

If you are tasked with national security, why would any competent manager keep around people who have no interest in keeping the nation’s most critical information secure? But the narrative continues to be pushed that FEMA is not a problem. FEMA is fine. This is all Donald Trump’s fault.   

Demonstrators waved signs that said “FEMA Saves Lives” and “Hands off FEMA” while speakers paid tribute to FEMA’s staff and mission, which they said has been under attack by the Trump administration.

FEMA veterans recalled proud moments when they helped deploy search and rescue teams after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, or helped nail tarps to people’s roofs after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Michael Coen, FEMA chief of staff in the Obama and Biden administrations, said the employees’ commitment to helping people compelled them “to warn Congress and the American people of the cascading effects of the decisions being made by the current administration.”

According to critics, part of those cascading effects is DHS tying FEMA grant funding to immigration enforcement. Grant requesters are now required to give a revised count of their populations that excludes illegal that have been deported. 

FEMA, a part of DHS, divided a $320 million Emergency Management Performance Grant among states on Sept. 29. But the next day, it told states the money was on hold until they submitted new population counts. The directive demanded that they omit people “removed from the State pursuant to the immigration laws of the United States” and to explain their methodology.

The amount of money distributed to the states is based on U.S. census population data. The new requirement forcing states to submit revised counts “is something we have never seen before,” said Trina Sheets, executive director of the National Emergency Management Association, a group representing emergency managers. “It’s certainly not the responsibility of emergency management to certify population.”

Another part of this cascade are the state attorneys general filing lawsuits because of grant programs that have been paused or canceled. Then there is the backlog of disaster aid requests, which the legacy media is making hay of right now, particularly in light of the Schumer shutdown.

A steady backlog of pending disaster aid requests has persisted this year, sitting at a dozen as of Tuesday. Under previous administrations, there have rarely been more than a handful of outstanding requests at any given time. It is up to states to request FEMA’s help; they take the lead in evaluating what kind of aid is needed and where.

Normally, Congress would appropriate tens of billions of dollars to refill the disaster aid fund at this time of year. Amid a government shutdown stretching into its third week, there has been little discussion of disaster funding on Capitol Hill. A bipartisan group of members is supporting a House bill that would make FEMA a Cabinet-level agency, removing it from the Homeland Security Department while streamlining its payment process and speeding up agency investments in disaster resilience around the country.

Bottom line: It detracts and distracts from where these states are actually spending money that could build and supply their own emergency response when the government remains shut down, the courts are used as a form of protest, and Deep State employees and former FEMA heads work to disrupt the Trump administration for disruption’s sake. 

Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.

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