Last week was a busy one for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The agency may soon know its future under Trump, but in a hopeful turn of events, the Emergency Relief Fund was replenished with critical funding as the partial government shutdown ended and personnel were rehired as the agency prepares for the impending wildfire and hurricane seasons. Here’s what else happened: 

• The FEMA Review Council, which was formed at the beginning of Trump’s second term to determine the future of the beleaguered agency, is scheduled to meet on May 7. This is the first sign of life from the council since last year, when it was supposed to release its report in November recommending changes to the agency, but then it didn’t. And then it was going to release its report again in December, but it didn’t.  Finally, Trump extended the council through March 25, which came and went without fanfare. The upcoming meeting is supposed to be the long-awaited release of the council’s report. Perhaps the third time is the charm.
• With hurricane season fast approaching, the agency has brought back 200 employees who had been let go late last year. The employees are part of the Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery (CORE) team, which is the first line of federal responders during a disaster. CORE staff are hired for a period of two to four years, but last year the administration chose not to renew their contracts. The American Federation of Government Employees and other groups filed a lawsuit a year ago challenging mass layoffs by the administration, including layoffs at FEMA, and the suit is ongoing.
• FEMA has also brought back over a dozen staff members who were previously suspended after signing a public letter of dissent concerning FEMA’s leadership and its current direction. The letter, circulated in August of last year, argued that the administration’s handling of the agency would lead to “not only another national catastrophe like Hurricane Katrina, but the effective dissolution of FEMA itself and the abandonment of the American people such an event would represent.” Over 180 current and former FEMA employees had signed the letter, but many had done so anonymously.
• With the partial government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security finally coming to an end, the FEMA Emergency Relief Fund received an injection of over $26 billion. The fund serves as the federal government’s reservoir for funding response and recovery operations following presidentially declared disasters. During the shutdown, the fund’s balance had dropped below $3 billion, triggering the agency to implement only Immediate Needs Funding (INF). Under INF, FEMA pauses funding obligations, typically Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation, deemed “not essential for lifesaving and life-sustaining activities.”

Despite positive steps toward stabilizing operations, including Markwayne Mullins’ removal of the Department of Homeland Security’s $100K spending approval rule, the further dismantling of FEMA — a concern raised by dissenting staff — remains a possibility until the Review Council issues its long-awaited recommendations. Previous leaks of recommendations have not been positive. One can only hope the delay is a product of a compromise between the council and the administration, as pressure has mounted from legislators and governors to protect the agency’s core functions.