ICE Barbie Changes Course After Yielding to Staff Criticizing Her Leadership

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has reversed a recent decision, allowing employees who were placed on leave for criticizing agency leadership to return to work, only to suspend them once more. Nearly 200 FEMA staffers signed an open letter in August condemning the agency's leadership and disaster response policies. A core group of 14 signatories faced administrative leave and intense internal scrutiny over their petition, known as the Katrina Declaration.

Earlier reports indicated that these employees had been reinstated. Virginia Case, FEMAs external affairs officer, expressed relief, stating she had feared termination. However, the reprieve was short-lived. The Daily Beast later reported that the same group had been suspended again.

The staff, many of whom signed anonymously, called on Congress to protect federal workers from politically motivated dismissals. The group falls under the Department of Homeland Security, overseen by FEMA leadership. The day after being reinstated, they were placed back on administrative leave.

Bloomberg had previously noted the reversal as an embarrassing misstep for leadership. Emergency management specialist Abby McIlraith shared her initial excitement about returning to work, having been cleared of wrongdoing. David Seide, a lawyer with the Government Accountability Project, confirmed that FEMA had halted the investigation and initially called the group back. Yet FEMA reinstated the suspension citing unauthorized reinstatement.

In a statement to the Daily Beast, a FEMA spokesperson explained, 14 employees were reinstated without proper authorization by bureaucrats acting outside their authority. Once identified, senior leadership corrected this, and the staff have been returned to administrative leave. The statement emphasized the expectation that federal employees follow lawful directives and uphold agency standards.

The open letter criticized leadership for weakening FEMAs disaster response capabilities, citing the Trump administrations budget cuts and the increased bureaucracy under current leadership. It coincided with the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and highlighted delays in federal aid to Texas following deadly July floods that claimed over 130 lives. The letter specifically noted that DHS contracts and grants exceeding $100,000 require personal approval from the agency head, a policy blamed for slowing disaster relief.

Our shared commitment to serving the public before, during, and after disasters compelled us to alert Congress and the American people to the negative impact of these decisions, the letter stated.

Author: Sophia Brooks