More than 180 current and former employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency have warned Congress that funding cuts and inexperienced leadership under President Donald Trump are eroding the agency’s ability to manage major disasters. In an open letter posted Monday and dubbed the “Katrina Declaration,” 190 signatories—36 of them identified by name—said FEMA’s current trajectory could lead to a catastrophe on the scale of Hurricane Katrina, whose 20th anniversary falls this week. The letter, published by the non-profit group Stand Up for Science, criticises several Department of Homeland Security policies, including a rule requiring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to approve FEMA contracts exceeding $100,000, the reassignment of staff to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and cuts to mitigation programmes, preparedness training and the agency’s workforce. The signatories say the measures reverse reforms enacted after Katrina and jeopardise lives and property as extreme weather intensifies. FEMA confirmed Tuesday that multiple employees who publicly signed the declaration were placed on paid administrative leave. Internal notices reviewed by the Washington Post and the Associated Press show more than 20 staff were told they were being moved to “non-duty status,” although the agency said the action was not punitive. Stand Up for Science and the employees called the move retaliation against lawful whistle-blowing. Agency spokesman Daniel Llargues defended the restructuring, saying FEMA had long been “bogged down by red tape” and that the administration’s goal is to ensure funds reach disaster survivors more quickly. The Trump administration has already shed roughly 2,000 FEMA positions this year—about one-third of the workforce—and plans to trim grant funding by around $1 billion. Congress has not yet responded to the employees’ appeal. The dispute unfolds as New Orleans and the Gulf Coast commemorate Katrina, a 2005 storm that killed more than 1,800 people and caused an estimated $200 billion in damage, underscoring the stakes of FEMA’s readiness amid increasingly severe weather.