The Federal Emergency Management Agency has begun offering new appointments to disaster relief workers whose contracts the agency did not renew in January, an attorney representing the Trump administration told a U.S. District Court on Friday night, reversing a controversial decision that prompted unions, scientific groups and a coalition of local governments to sue the administration.
FEMA has “initiated contact to offer new appointments to term-limited employees whose contracts expired in the first three weeks of January,” U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian wrote in a notice filed Friday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
The notice comes after uncertainty over the coming months for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s limited-term disaster response personnel, who make up about half of the agency’s workforce. This follows news earlier this week that FEMA had reinstated 14 employees who had been placed on paid administrative leave for eight months for signing an open letter criticizing policies adopted by FEMA and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security.
The actions are the latest sign that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is moving away from the harsher approach to FEMA that his predecessor, Kristi Noem, adopted before she was fired as head of the Department of Homeland Security. They also questioned whether the measures were a response to concerns that disaster agencies may not be prepared for major events such as the Atlantic hurricane season and the FIFA World Cup.
FEMA did not immediately respond Friday to questions about the court notice or how many employees had received invitations to return. On Thursday, a spokesperson told The Associated Press that while it did not comment on specific personnel actions, the agency is “addressing outstanding personnel actions to ensure workforce stability and provide robust, deployable reinforcements for impending national events and potential disasters.”
FEMA’s On-Call Response/Recovery Employee (CORE) operates two- to four-year missions, and although these missions are traditionally updated periodically, this system allows the agency to build up and downsize its capabilities as needed. There are approximately 10,000 COREs. Current and former FEMA staff told The Associated Press that it’s not uncommon for employees to work for decades or even retire under limited terms.
FEMA abruptly stopped renewing some CORE employees’ contracts in early 2026 as their contracts expired, while other contracts were extended only 90 days at a time. The agency suspended nonrenewals in late January, just before a severe winter storm affected several states. By that time, 159 COREs had not yet been updated, according to a sworn statement from FEMA interim leader Karen S. Evans.
A coalition led by the American Federation of Government Employees union is suing the administration over the non-renewal, claiming it is part of a broader plan to cut FEMA’s workforce in half and undermine FEMA’s congressional mandate to ensure national disaster preparedness.
In his statement, Evans denied any plans to “comprehensively” eliminate CORE and said non-renewal “does not threaten FEMA’s ability to carry out its statutory responsibilities.”
It’s unclear how FEMA’s decision will affect the lawsuit. A statement filed with the court Friday evening by the plaintiffs’ attorneys said they would respond “following an appropriate factual investigation.” Lawyers for the plaintiffs are scheduled to oust former Department of Homeland Security deputy chief of staff Joseph Guy next week amid an ongoing investigation into the decisions that led to CORE’s firing.
A FEMA employee who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media said they were aware of at least two key personnel who had been recalled.
FEMA officials also announced this week that core staff whose contracts ended between January and May and were previously extended 90 days “may be reappointed to terms of up to one year,” as well as those whose contracts end after May, according to an email to employees reviewed by The Associated Press. “Eligible” FEMA reservists will be renewed for two years, the email said. The contracts for the approximately 7,000 reservists in the agency’s surge force are set to expire on May 2.
“Our preparedness directly impacts our ability to help Americans in need, and every employee plays a critical role in meeting these challenges,” the email said.
