federal workforce deficiencies in FEMA have impeded previous disaster relief operations, as per GAO's assessment; unfortunately, the agency currently has even fewer employees.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is bracing for the upcoming hurricane season with a depleted workforce, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and recent developments within the agency.
The GAO's report, released on Tuesday, highlighted that FEMA is currently facing staffing shortages. As of mid-June 2025, the Senior Executive Service (SES) cadre, which is crucial for leadership roles within the agency, was only half filled. This shortage has been compounded by the fact that the agency began the 2024 hurricane season with only 17% of its incident management workforce (main disaster field support) available, a four-year low. The situation worsened this year, with just 12% of field employees available to be deployed at the start of the 2025 hurricane season.
These staffing shortages have led to challenges in managing ongoing recovery efforts. FEMA officials often have to reassign workers when new disasters strike, which can divert attention and resources away from ongoing recovery efforts elsewhere.
To address these issues, FEMA is re-emphasizing a policy under which nearly all agency workers are assigned to and trained for an incident management or incident support role. However, the agency has been sending grant management employees with little training to help disaster survivors apply for assistance, a practice that has raised concerns.
The situation at FEMA has not gone unnoticed by policymakers. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee recently approved the Fixing Emergency Management for Americans Act (H.R. 4669), a bipartisan bill that aims to streamline federal disaster response, make FEMA a cabinet-level agency, and "reward effective state and local preparedness."
Despite these efforts, the proposed overhauls remain hypothetical, as the federal government is expected to meet its disaster response mission with fewer resources this year due to staff reductions. The current Senior Executive Service leaders at FEMA, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, have made changes within the agency, such as dismissing 24 IT staff due to significant cybersecurity failures. However, the complete contemporary Senior Executive Service roster is not detailed in the available sources as of September 2025.
Members of the FEMA Review Council established within the Homeland Security Department have warned that states should expect to shoulder more of the financial burden for disaster recovery in the future. President Donald Trump has also targeted FEMA for reform, arguing that states would more effectively manage disaster response.
As the hurricane season progresses, it remains to be seen how FEMA will navigate these challenges and ensure effective disaster response and recovery efforts. DHS did not respond to a request for comment about GAO's report.
