The Trump administration’s sweeping freeze on hiring threatens to leave the nation’s wildfire-fighting force shorthanded, a California senator told the Trump administration.
Sen. Adam Schiff, a Democrat, told administration officials in a letter that the hiring freeze — which may have been inadvertently applied to firefighting positions — could stretch firefighting efforts that have already struggled with recruitment and retention.
“In the face of increasingly destructive wildfires, we cannot afford to diminish the tools at our disposal to fight these fires,” Schiff said in the letter sent to the Office of Management and Budget and the departments of Agriculture and the Interior.
At issue is whether the administration’s position that public safety positions are exempt from the freeze applies to unfilled firefighting positions. The administration hasn’t said the exemption applies, although outside groups said they hope such a clarification comes soon.
