Shockwaves are rippling through FEMA as bombshell documents suggest the nation’s go-to disaster agency could shed thousands of frontline responders by the end of 2026.

Secret emails obtained by The Washington Post expose jaw-dropping plans within the Department of Homeland Security to slash staff from FEMA’s key teams—the very people deployed during hurricanes, floods, and wildfires.

According to three insiders close to the talks, it all kicked off with a stealth round of layoffs that axed 65 members of the agency’s Cadre of On-Call Response and Recovery (CORE) on New Year’s Eve. These workers are the backbone of FEMA’s emergency field force, often spending months or years in devastated communities.

But the cuts aren’t stopping there. Internal spreadsheets shared among FEMA’s top brass just before the holidays reportedly pinpoint over 4,300 CORE roles on the chopping block—a staggering 41% cut! Even more dramatic, plans floated slashing surge staff—a group mobilized post-disaster—by 85%, which would mean almost 6,500 jobs gone.

All eyes are now on Homeland Security boss Kristi Noem, notorious for her drive to rein in FEMA’s sprawling workforce. Sources who used to walk the halls at DHS say Noem has been the architect behind the controversial reorganization. She’s allegedly been working hand-in-glove with agency planners to hammer out these proposed reductions.

Not everyone’s buying the doom and gloom. FEMA’s spokesperson pushed back hard, telling The Independent, “No formal directive to halve our team exists—no such plan is signed off by DHS or the White House.” Officials insist the leaked emails only reflect routine internal brainstorming, not approved cuts, and say numbers in those drafts were never adopted as agency policy.

To add more confusion, FEMA says the recent end-of-term departures in CORE weren’t tied to the workforce reduction exercise at all. They’re adamant that any rumored mass downsizing is far from official.

Still, industry veterans like Cameron Hamilton, who ran FEMA for part of Donald Trump’s second stint as president, warn that carving up disaster teams could spell trouble for vulnerable Americans waiting on relief.

Meanwhile, DHS has admitted to slicing 50 jobs earlier this January, but claims it’s just part of regular staffing tweaks—nothing new, nothing dramatic.

The backroom tug-of-war inside FEMA continues, raising serious questions about how America prepares for the next big catastrophe.