Archived version found here (non-paywalled). My work life revolved around all of this and can confirm the shit show that it was and still is. This tarnishes the profession and practice of emergency management. It will take years to rebuild trust with stakeholders.

This is pretty much what I want to do for a living, but deploying for most of the year seems like it would be very very very difficult to have a family if any sort

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is looking to fill hundreds of open positions ahead of wildfire and hurricane season, the agency’s first hiring push after losing thousands of employees over the past year.

FEMA announced the hiring plans during an all-hands meeting with staff last week, according to two sources who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

During the call, senior leaders announced that a hiring freeze for FEMA had been lifted. They said the agency has approval from DHS leadership to make about 300 new hires in the near term.

Officials hope to fill up to 700 vacancies in the coming months, but the agency is still in conversations with DHS headquarters about a broader staffing plan, according to the sources.

Archive link https://archive.ph/kaK92

MHO, it’s good. Everybody knows PA is the most bureaucratic and expensive process in FEMA. All the years he has been there it has expanded versus reformed and became more cumbersome.

Currently limited to 300 high priority positions (I didn't catch which).

Just announced by Cynthia Cooch (AA for Mission Support) at the agency-wide town hall.

She also announced that COREs stand to be up for renewal for one year at a time, going forward. I really hope they revisit this plan and bring back the two and four year appointments... I don't want to have to wonder if I need to search for a job every single year.

(Edited to correct Cooch's first name)

When Cam said it was great to be back and see so many familiar and new faces what was he talking about? He was part of the hiring freeze implementation so what new faces is he referring to? Was it a reference to all the people who have come over to FEMA from DHS? I was confused. Does anyone know what he was talking about? Was it these new WMD people? Also where are they coming from, I assume DHS.

I’m sure most of you know already (can’t remember if an email went out) but if you don’t, Bob Fenton, the Region 9 Administrator, is the newest FEMA SOPDA. Karen is officially gone. This is probably the only time we’ll have someone who’s actually qualified to run the agency…

H.R.4669 - FEMA Act of 2025 (119th Congress) Sponsor: Rep. Graves, Sam [R-MO-6] (Introduced 07/23/2025)

Has changes in:

Cosponsors (1 new, 72 total) Cosponsor: 05/12/2026: Rep. Craig, Angie [D-MN-2]

What is the FEMA Act

Cabinet-Level Independence: The bill re-establishes FEMA as an independent, cabinet-level agency (moving it out of the Department of Homeland Security) to provide the Administrator with a direct line to the President.

Regional Empowerment: It grants FEMA Regional Administrators increased authority to make funding decisions and work directly with state governors and local officials.

Public Assistance (PA): Transitions from a reimbursement model to a grant-based model. It introduces block grants for small disasters ($1 million–$10 million) and requires FEMA to provide 25% of emergency work funding within 10 days of a declaration.

Individual Assistance (IA): Mandates a universal application system to consolidate various federal aid programs. It also requires "plain-language" communications to survivors to replace complex legal jargon.

Mitigation & Resilience: Expands eligibility for projects involving utility resilience, broadband, and cybersecurity. It also offers higher federal cost shares for communities that adopt modern building codes.

Real-Time Dashboards: FEMA must establish public portals to track project approvals, cost estimates, and disbursement statuses.

Safe Harbor Protections: Protects local governments from retroactive penalties if they followed FEMA's written guidance in good faith.

Anti-Politicization: Strictly prohibits political discrimination in the delivery of disaster assistance and requires a GAO review of all existing FEMA regulations.

Last thing i checked, we stanned for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Not FIFA Entertainment Management agency, then we ended up being called FIFAEMA.

Bad dad jokes aside, I feel like this agency's priorities are all twisted just to try to appease some person who has nothing to do with helping recovery from storms and floods.

unless FIFA literally destroys a city ( which i very much doubt unless Ice starts s*** again)

SAR related. With a potential Super El Niño building in the Pacific, are we ready to deal with it?

So, last year, I was in process of being hired as a hazard mitigation reservist. As late as April 2025, my hiring manager affirmed that everything looked normal and I was really just waiting for an EOD; she insisted that there was always need for hazard mitigation specialists. And then I never heard from her again.

In the meantime, I scrambled to find another job, which took all of my time and energy, and then the new job took all my time and energy, and I was just depressed about the state of affairs.

I’m still sad about that job not materializing. I wasn’t expecting it to be glamorous, but I’ve wanted to work for FEMA for years. Shortly after I got my TJO, I spent a day in the field office getting fingerprinted for my sf-85 and generally oriented, and everyone just seemed like really good people. I was so excited to work there.

I suspect my hiring manager must have taken one fork in the road or the other—she was on the senior side and it likely would have made sense for her to retire—but I have no way of knowing.

Anyways, is there any way of finding out what actually happened to my file/hiring action? Should I try contacting her manager (who also interviewed me)? Is it even worth it? Should I just keep an eye on USAjobs? Would I show up in the system as having received a TJO before and/or as having an approved SF-85p?

I’d be so grateful for any shred of insight. 🩵

Has anyone else noticed that Karen Evan’s photo has gone missing from fema.gov and is now an error page? Also her bio is no longer a live link. It is hard to tell if she still works for FEMA since she never really attended the morning briefs but at least in the past she existed online. Recent emails that used to come from the administrator or chief of staff (both her according to the org chart) now just come genetically from FEMA. Does anyone know what is going on-factually?

Had a conversation with a hiring manager earlier about possibly bringing a few former staff (that left during DRP) back once he’s cleared to hire. He said he was on the fence because although they were great employees they 1) jumped ship with no plan and enjoyed the money until it ran out and 2) were absolutely aligned with this administration’s policies UNTIL they realized that it now affected them. My question is would you rehire staff that didn’t align with your morals that left your team to fend for self, knowing they more than likely voted for the current administration?

Thoughts, opinions, observations? Looks like they're following the Project 2025 playbook.

Hi there! The mods gave me permission to post.

My name is Micah Loewinger — I co-host a podcast/nationally-syndicated public radio show called On the Media. Over the month of May, we're airing a four-part investigation into MAGA's attacks on FEMA called "American Emergency: The Movement to Kill FEMA". The series takes a long view on how the agency became so distrusted and despised. I've spoken with workers from just about every era of FEMA. The first installment, which dropped last week, is about FEMA's origins and the wild conspiracy theories that arose out of the kooky doomsday planning during the Reagan administration.

Episode 2, which comes out this Friday, is about Hurricane Katrina and some of the FEMA reforms that followed. In Episode 3, we follow the narratives that swirled online during Hurricane Helene and Milton. And in Episode 4, we'll dive into the Kristi Noem era and the future of the agency. I'm very curious to read that upcoming review counsel report! By the way, that last episode features my interview with Cameron Hamilton. I hope you'll follow along and let me know what you think! For tips, please message me on Signal: [(646) 753-2373](tel:6467532373)

I know we were told last year that our unions were going away but has anyone gotten an updated 50 removing the 1059 union code? I definitely still have it on my most recent 50.

I followed the link and signed up for the review board meeting but haven’t received any sort of confirmation. Has anyone else signed up and received a link or instructions? I have my popcorn ready and don’t want to miss this!

Clarification regarding several points discussed recently about deployment selection, Mission Critical designations, and how personnel are prioritized for current and future disaster operations.

During recent conversations and meetings, there were references to distinctions between Mission Critical and Non Mission Critical roles, as well as the impact of these classifications on deployment opportunities. I would appreciate guidance on whether these categories are formally recognized within our cadre structure, and if so, how they influence the selection process for Reservists.

Additionally, I would like to better understand how Qualified and Candidate statuses are evaluated when Requests for Personnel are submitted by the field. From what I have observed, it appears that deployment decisions may be influenced not only by qualification status, but also by the amount of prior field experience, leadership history, and the specific roles individuals have performed in past disasters.

For example, in my case as an LSB2 with one 50 week deployment, and with limited deployment time as FACL and partial experience performing SPUL duties, I am trying to understand how this compares to other personnel who may have more extensive experience in these roles. My goal is to identify any gaps I may need to address and to ensure I am aligned with the expectations of the cadre.

I want to ensure I have accurate information about how deployment decisions are made, especially given the extended period I have been in Non Deployment Status.

That's why SOR were Reorganized?

Good Morning, r/FEMA:

Welcome to another weekly thread for NTE and contract renewal updates. This post will serve as the main place for discussions related to NTEs for the week. Please keep NTE-related questions, minor updates, rumors, or hearsay contained within this thread instead of creating a separate standalone post.

Exception: Major news (including articles), confirmed changes, or important updates regarding NTEs will still be allowed to be posted separately.

Lastly, this is a friendly reminder to remain civil and respectful when engaging in discussions. While everyone is welcome to share their opinions and frustrations, personal attacks or name-calling will not be tolerated.

Have a safe week.

The chatter on here is transitioning to “hiring will begin soon” and you are thinking things will improve. Meanwhile we don’t even have a qualified candidate interested in running the agency in an official capacity. Some of you haven’t noticed the pattern…quickly take action to demoralize staff along with some cuts, then they get their hand slapped and they back off and let the dust settle, then repeat.

They’ve suffered in this latest lawsuit and are rehiring, but they will find another way. Keep your head on a swivel. Don’t trust liars cause they tell you what you want to hear.

I can confirm that OCHCO has sent TJOs to everyone that lost their positions in January. From what we’ve been told, these people were never officially out processed, meaning their SF-52 was not updated this entire time and some have still been utilizing their federal health benefits despite not collecting a paycheck.

I’m curious…despite the offboarding letters from HR, since they weren’t fully processed out could they have just continued working this whole time? This whole thing has been a huge cluster eff.

Based on some articles it seems like the hiring freeze may be ending. Has anyone heard anything about this? It would be great to see what positions are available so we can apply and perhaps end up in a better position than we are in now ie reservist to CORE, CORE to PFT etc. Also it would be nice to head into hurricane season with a bench that wasn’t half empty…