苏珊·伊尔斯顿法官认定国土安全部侵犯了联邦法律，越权接管了联邦紧急事务管理局的人事自主权
美国东部时间2026年9月14日凌晨1:17 / 福克斯新闻
作者：兰登·米恩
一名联邦法官裁定，特朗普政府要求联邦紧急事务管理局（FEMA）将员工规模裁减一半的指令违法。
美国地区法官苏珊·伊尔斯顿周五认定，国土安全部（DHS）非法接管了FEMA的人事自主权，并推动该机构削减数千个救灾岗位。
尽管FEMA隶属于国土安全部，但2005年卡特里娜飓风后通过的一项联邦法律规定，该部门“不得实质性或大幅削减（FEMA的）权限、职责或职能”。
伊尔斯顿表示，国土安全部去年试图阻止FEMA续签数千名待命救灾预备人员的临时合同，这一行为违反了上述法律。
国土安全部计划对不配合选举安全工作的州实施代价高昂的制裁
一名联邦法官裁定，特朗普政府要求联邦紧急事务管理局将员工规模裁减一半的指令违法。（凯文·卡特/盖蒂图片社）
“案卷中没有证据表明，此次政策转变以及国土安全部随后对FEMA续签权限施加的条件，是经过审慎决策的，”伊尔斯顿在判决书中写道。
伊尔斯顿的裁决未涉及救济措施或处罚，她指出相关问题将在次月的另一项裁决中处理。
该法官表示，各方需在10月9日前提交关于“本案中仍未解决的救济诉求”的陈述文件。
提起诉讼的工会辩称，计划中的裁员违法，因为这将破坏FEMA的核心救灾使命，且未获得国会批准，而是由时任国土安全部部长克里斯蒂·诺姆而非FEMA官员下令实施的。
唐纳德·特朗普总统曾提议撤销FEMA，并由各州自行负责应急准备工作。（凯文·迪奇/盖蒂图片社）
本届政府辩称，FEMA在确定合理 staffing 水平方面拥有相当大的灵活性。唐纳德·特朗普总统曾提议撤销FEMA，并由各州自行负责应急准备工作。
今年6月，伊尔斯顿拒绝立即叫停裁员，理由是FEMA已暂时搁置了原定的裁员计划。
但周五，该法官写道，FEMA似乎正推进裁员计划。她表示，FEMA将下一财年的员工规模规划为11383人，仅为此前水平的一半，但并未说明该数字的依据。
民主党州长强烈反对，特朗普政府住房和城市发展部因欺诈问题审查近20亿美元救灾资金
提起诉讼的工会辩称，计划中的裁员违法，因为这将破坏FEMA的核心救灾使命，且未获得国会批准，而是由时任国土安全部部长克里斯蒂·诺姆而非FEMA官员下令实施的。（阿尔·德拉戈/盖蒂图片社）
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福克斯新闻数字频道联系国土安全部和FEMA征求评论，但未得到即时回应。
FEMA的一名发言人在给《国会山报》的声明中表示：“在特朗普总统和国土安全部部长马克韦恩·马林的领导下，国土安全部和FEMA已做好应对2026年飓风季的准备。FEMA继续在总部和区域办公室维持一支经验丰富的领导团队和支援人员队伍。没有哪个岗位没有经验丰富的负责人。”
在另一项裁决中，该法官还批评FEMA和国土安全部官员使用个人手机上的Signal通讯应用讨论裁员事宜并删除了聊天记录。
伊尔斯顿表示，这些聊天记录本应与本案诉讼相关，她现在将“推定丢失的Signal聊天记录对被告不利，因为这些记录本可进一步证明其违法行为”。
路透社对本文亦有贡献。
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Federal judge rules Trump admin plan to cut FEMA workforce in half is unlawful
Judge Susan Illston found DHS violated federal law by taking control of FEMA’s authority over its own personnel
September 14, 2026 1:17am EDT / Fox News
By Landon Mion
A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration’s directive for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cut its workforce in half was unlawful.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston found on Friday that the Department of Homeland Security acted unlawfully by taking control of FEMA’s authority over its own personnel and pushing the agency to slash thousands of disaster-response jobs.
Although FEMA is under DHS, a federal law adopted after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 states that the department “may not substantially or significantly reduce (FEMA’s) authorities, responsibilities, or functions.”
Illston said the department violated the law last year when it sought to stop FEMA from renewing the temporary contracts of thousands of on-call reservists who respond to disasters.
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A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration’s order for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cut its workforce in half was unlawful.(Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
“There is no evidence in the record reflecting reasoned decision-making for this about-face or for the subsequent conditions DHS placed on FEMA’s renewal authority,” Illston wrote.
Illston’s ruling did not include remedies or penalties, noting that those would be addressed in a separate ruling next month.
The judge said the parties have until Oct. 9 to submit briefings on “what relief remains outstanding” in this case.
The unions that sued argued that the planned cuts are unlawful because they would undermine FEMA’s core disaster‑response mission, were not approved by Congress and were ordered by then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem instead of FEMA officials.
President Donald Trump has suggested that FEMA should be eliminated and that states should handle their emergency preparedness.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The administration has contended that FEMA has considerable flexibility to determine proper staffing levels. President Donald Trump has suggested that FEMA should be eliminated and that states should handle their emergency preparedness.
In June, Illston declined to immediately block the job cuts, ruling that FEMA had at least temporarily abandoned its planned layoffs.
But on Friday, the judge wrote that FEMA appeared to be moving forward with the job cuts. She said FEMA projected its staffing levels for the upcoming fiscal year at 11,383 employees, or about half of previous levels, without any basis for picking that figure.
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The unions that sued argued that the planned cuts are unlawful because they would undermine FEMA’s core disaster‑response mission, were not approved by Congress and were ordered by then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem instead of FEMA officials.(Al Drago/Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital reached out to DHS and FEMA for comment but they did not immediately respond.
“Under President Trump and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s leadership, DHS and FEMA are ready for the 2026 hurricane season,” a FEMA spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill. “FEMA continues to maintain a roster of experienced leadership and support staff across headquarters and regional offices. No position is without experienced leadership.”
In a separate ruling, the judge also faulted FEMA and DHS officials for using the Signal messaging app on their personal cell phones to discuss staffing cuts and deleting the messages.
Illston said the messages would have been relevant to the lawsuit and that she would now presume “that the lost Signal messages would have been unfavorable to Defendants because they would have been further evidence” of unlawful conduct.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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