FEMA Reinstates Whistleblowers and Disaster Workers as Mullin Reverses Noem-Era Cuts

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has reinstated staff who were placed on leave after publicly signing the Katrina Declaration, and is reversing broader disaster-worker staffing cuts made under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, according to CNN, NBC News, and the New York Times. The steps were confirmed as of April 30, 2026, and come as FEMA prepares for the 2026 hurricane season and the FIFA World Cup under new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

The Details

CNN reported that 14 current FEMA staffers were directed to return to work after being placed on administrative leave for signing the Katrina Declaration — a public letter in which agency employees warned that the dismantling of FEMA posed a disaster-response risk on the scale of Hurricane Katrina. NBC News reported that at least 15 whistleblowers were welcomed back to work effective April 30, 2026, after DHS confirmed the return-to-duty decision in an email to Sen. Andy Kim. The slight difference in the count — 14 by CNN's tally, at least 15 per NBC News — has not been explained by either outlet; the article attributes the numbers separately rather than combining them.

The reinstatements extended beyond the whistleblower group. According to CNN and the New York Times, FEMA also began calling back disaster workers who had been let go when their contracts lapsed in January 2026, with most expiring contracts set to be extended for one year. The agency did not publicly release a full count of how many disaster workers were being rehired, CNN and the New York Times reported.

FEMA spokesperson Victoria Barton framed the changes as a readiness measure. "As we approach the 2026 hurricane season and the FIFA World Cup, FEMA is taking targeted steps to stabilize our workforce and strengthen readiness," Barton said, per CNN, NBC News, and the New York Times. Barton attributed the moves to new leadership at the agency.

Sen. Andy Kim, who had sought confirmation from DHS on the whistleblower returns, responded to the announcement. "These public servants never should have faced retaliation for raising the alarm and trying to keep Americans safe," Kim said, according to NBC News.

Multiple staffing policy changes have followed Mullin's arrival at DHS. According to CNN and NBC News, Mullin — who became Homeland Security secretary in late March — has rolled back several Noem-era policies at FEMA, including a strict spending-approval regime. Noem was fired last month before the reinstatements were announced.

Context

The Katrina Declaration was a public letter signed by FEMA staff warning that the agency's dismantling placed the country at risk of a disaster-response failure comparable to the government's response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, according to CNN and NBC News. The employees who signed it were subsequently placed on administrative leave under Noem's tenure.

The broader staffing reductions had been building for months. DHS began terminating FEMA disaster workers as contracts expired around January 2026, according to CNN. GovExec reported that unions filed suit after FEMA declined to renew hundreds of CORE disaster-response workers, and that internal agency records showed DHS had sought scenarios to cut FEMA staffing by as much as half — without a plan to reach that target. That reporting added institutional context to the scale of the cuts being reversed.

Hurricane season begins in June, making deployable staffing levels an operational priority for the agency, according to CNN and the New York Times. A civil lawsuit stemming from the contract non-renewals remains active in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, according to GovExec and the New York Times.

What's Next

FEMA has not published a full accounting of how many disaster workers will be rehired under the reversal, beyond the one-year contract extensions described by CNN and the New York Times. The agency's stated priorities, per spokesperson Barton, are workforce stabilization ahead of hurricane season and security readiness for the FIFA World Cup.

The civil lawsuit over CORE worker non-renewals remains pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, according to GovExec. No resolution timeline has been publicly reported.