The Department of Homeland Security has drafted plans to sharply reduce the Federal Emergency Management Agency's workforce in 2026, including cutting thousands of disaster response and recovery positions, according to internal documents.
The documents, obtained by The Washington Post, outline potential reductions across much of FEMA's workforce, including large cuts to its Cadre of On-Call Response and Recovery, or CORE, which makes up the bulk of the agency's disaster-specific staff.
Emails sent to senior leadership in late December include tables showing a proposed 41% reduction in CORE disaster roles, or more than 4,300 positions, along with an 85% reduction in surge staffing totaling 6,500 jobs, the Post reported Tuesday.
In a statement, FEMA spokesperson Daniel Llargués said the agency has "not issued and is not implementing a percentage-based workforce reduction."
"The materials referenced from the leaked documentation stem from a routine, pre-decisional workforce planning exercise conducted in line with OMB and OPM guidance," Llargués said. "The email outlining that exercise did not direct staffing cuts or establish reduction targets."
However, three people familiar with the plans said the terminations are expected to occur in waves.
They said cuts began on New Year's Eve, when about 65 CORE positions were eliminated.
The documents describe the reductions as an "exercise" and state that they are "pre-decisional in nature," saying no personnel actions were being directed or implemented. However, two officials familiar with the process said the tables reflect targets set by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Internal emails refer to the spreadsheets as "planning documents" and show what one person familiar with them described as "deliberate" discussions about workforce reductions. The emails ask senior leadership to review staffing levels and ensure retained positions are "absolutely necessary."
Noem has long supported reducing FEMA staffing, according to two former senior officials, and previous reports indicated that she has recommended cutting the agency's workforce by about half.
DHS has said publicly that it terminated 50 employees in early January, describing the move as a "routine staff adjustment of 50 staff out of 8,000."
Two officials with knowledge of the process said the number is closer to 65 and that hundreds more terminations were expected by the end of January.
CORE staffers whose contracts were set to expire this month had not received updates on their employment status, officials said.
Llargués said the recent CORE cuts were unrelated to the workforce planning exercise described in the leaked emails.
The potential reductions come less than a year after FEMA carried out a large wave of terminations in early 2025, which included hundreds of probationary employees.
FEMA officials are also awaiting a final report from a Trump-appointed review council examining the agency's future.
A draft version previously reported by The Post recommended making FEMA leaner but more independent, a conclusion that conflicted with recommendations from Noem, who served as the council's co-chair.
Several current and former FEMA officials raised concerns that large-scale workforce reductions could impair the agency's ability to meet its legal responsibilities.
Under the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act, the Homeland Security secretary is prohibited from taking actions that "substantially or significantly reduce the authorities, responsibilities, or functions" of FEMA.
"There are serious legal questions here," said a veteran FEMA official who has also worked within DHS, speaking on condition of anonymity.
FEMA employs about 22,300 people, including roughly 17,500 CORE staffers spread across the country, according to an agency official. CORE employees are hired under multiyear contracts using the Disaster Relief Fund and often remain in disaster zones for years to support long-term recovery efforts.
CORE teams work directly with state and local officials, processing grants, coordinating logistics, conducting training, and overseeing long-term recovery projects tied to disasters such as Hurricanes Sandy, Maria, and Fiona.
In some regions, including parts of Texas and Louisiana, CORE employees make up roughly 80% of FEMA's field staff, a former senior official said.
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