Overview
- The ruling, which came Friday, found U.S. District Judge Susan Illston that the Department of Homeland Security unlawfully usurped FEMA’s authority by revoking the agency’s power to renew CORE on‑call contracts and endorsing a topline staffing target of about 11,383 employees.
- Illston called the 11,383 figure unexplained and capricious and identified senior officials linked to the plan, citing evidence that Joseph Guy, Kara Voorhies and Karen Evans steered the staffing reductions.
- The judge said senior officials used the Signal messaging app with auto‑delete settings and ordered an adverse inference that the deleted messages would have been unfavorable to DHS and FEMA in the litigation.
- DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and FEMA leaders defend smaller staffing as the result of efficiency and technology upgrades and say judges should not dictate agency hiring choices.
- The court did not order remedies but directed the parties to meet and file briefs on relief with a deadline set for early October, and unions are seeking rescission of non‑renewal notices for CORE reservists.