On the heels of the disastrous floods in Texas, days away from the Hurricane Katrina twenty year anniversary, and with Hurricane Erin almost becoming another Hurricane Sandy, the dedicated employees at FEMA are worried. Very worried. They’ve got a President who repeatedly has called to dismantle the agency, a DHS Secretary who is more interested in photo ops and slow walking expenditure requests, and an acting administrator who has no experience in emergency management. Oh, and they’ve suffered losses of about a third of their workforce.
Nice try, but that's not going to be enough. Credit: Microsoft Designer
So some of
the more outspoken employees have written a letter. That should do the trick.
The letter, which they call the FEMA Katrina Declaration, was signed by almost two hundred current and past employees (although only three dozen allowed their names to be public). They charge:
Since January 2025, FEMA has been under the leadership of individuals lacking legal qualifications, Senate approval, and the demonstrated background required of a FEMA Administrator. Decisions made by FEMA’s Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Administrator (SOPDA) David Richardson, Former SOPDA Cameron Hamilton, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem erode the capacity of FEMA and our State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) partners, hinder the swift execution of our mission, and dismiss experienced staff whose institutional knowledge and relationships are vital to ensure effective emergency management.
The letter
goes on to list “Six Statements of Opposition,” calling to reverse various
actions the Administration has taken that they believe impairs FEMA’s ability
to fulfill its mission. Each seems perfectly reasonable, and none seems likely
to result in action, at least unless/until disasters strike enough red states
to force action.
FEMA
spokesperson Daniel Llargues was not impressed, responding: “It is not
surprising that some of the same bureaucrats who presided over decades of
inefficiency are now objecting to reform. Change is always hard. It is
especially for those invested in the status quo. But our obligation is to
survivors, not to protecting broken systems.”
For staff across the National Institutes of Health (NIH), we dissent to Administration policies that undermine the NIH mission, waste public resources, and harm the health of Americans and people across the globe. Keeping NIH at the forefront of biomedical research requires our stalwart commitment to continuous improvement. But the life-and-death nature of our work demands that changes be thoughtful and vetted. We are compelled to speak up when our leadership prioritizes political momentum over human safety and faithful stewardship of public resources.
The Declaration
lists five categories of cuts the Administration has taken, about which they warn:
“Combined, these actions have resulted in an unprecedented reduction in NIH spending that does not
reflect efficiency but rather a dramatic reduction in life-saving research.”
Amen to
that.
Director Bhattacharya
was somewhat more respectful than Mr. Llargues in his response, claiming: “The
Bethesda Declaration has some fundamental misconceptions about the policy
directions the NIH has taken in recent months, including the continuing support
of the NIH for international collaboration. Nevertheless, respectful dissent in
science is productive. We all want the NIH to succeed.”
I don’t
believe him. This Administration does not recognize any dissent as “respectful.”
The EPA
letter, for example, flat out said: “Under your leadership, Administrator
Zeldin, this administration is recklessly undermining the EPA mission,” going
on to list five specific examples, and warning: “Your decisions and actions
will reverberate for generations to come. EPA under your leadership will not
protect communities from hazardous chemicals and unsafe drinking water, but
instead will increase risks to public health and safety.” Over 600 staffers
signed -- although all were anonymous.
Similarly,
149 NSF employees – almost all of whom remained anonymous – expressed their “deep
concern over a series of politically motived and legally questionable actions
by the Administration that threaten the integrity of the NSF and undermine the
civil service protections guaranteed under federal law.” The net result, they
say, “collectively amount to the systemic dismantling of a world-renowned
scientific agency” and “would cripple American science.”
And, in
response to the August
8th attack on CDC headquarters, over 750 current and former CDC
staffers issued a blistering response to Secretary Kennedy, saying: “When a
federal health agency is under attack, America’s health is under attack. When
the federal workforce is not safe, America is not safe,” and accusing Secretary
Kennedy of being “complicit in dismantling America’s public health
infrastructure and endangering the nation’s health by repeatedly spreading
inaccurate health information.”
Note that hundreds
of CDC employees were terminated the week after the shooting, and, to the best
of my knowledge, President Trump has never spoken about the shooting. Secretary
Kennedy issued what has
been described as a “tepid” response while managing to work in criticism of
CDC’s pandemic response. Class guy.
Bravo to
all the people at the various agencies who were willing to speak out. Call them
bureaucrats, accuse them of being “woke,” strip away the protections that they’ve
long relied on, and these brave public servants still want to speak out when
they see their good work being crippled.
But I have
to point out that almost none dared list their identifies, worried about retribution
by the Administration and potentially even worse by MAGA supporters. These are
the times we’re living in. And, of course, despite various legal actions, most
of the Administration’s actions roll on virtually unabated.
Letters, I
fear, are not going to do it. This Administration doesn’t care about letters. We
all need to protest, but note that President Trump just issued an Executive
Order calling for the National Guard in each state to have specialized
units for “...quelling civil disturbances and ensuring the public safety and
order whenever the circumstances necessitate.” That’s you and me, folks. That’s what they
think of our First Amendment rights.
President
Trump may deny being a dictator or even wanting to be a dictator, as he
did today, but if someone talks like a dictator and acts like a dictator, believe
them. That’s a dictator.
So keep
those letters and those lawsuits coming, but they’re not going to be enough. A lot
of us have to speak up, stand up – and vote.