Judge blocks Trump administration directive to cut half of FEMA’s workforce

A federal judge on Friday prevented a Trump administration directive from going into effect that sought to cut the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s workforce in half.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston of the Northern District of California, who was appointed under former President Bill Clinton, ruled the Department of Homeland Security “acted unlawfully in usurping FEMA’s authority over its personnel” after unions that sued the Trump administration alleged DHS was planning a 50% workforce reduction that would include its Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery Employees (CORE) staff.