Three federal agencies that respond to disasters have expressed concerns that staffing cuts under President Donald Trump are weakening their ability to help people and communities recover from calamity, a new government report says.
Workforce reductions “may exacerbate” ongoing struggles with disaster response by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers and EPA, said the Government Accountability Office in a report released Tuesday.
Officials at the three agencies “noted reductions in their workforce and shared concerns about meeting disaster response” requirements, the GAO wrote.
The 17-page report focuses on FEMA, whose officials told the GAO it “now faces a significant skills gap in its leadership” due to departures, including those who left through the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program.
