Fema Staff Rejoice as Controversial DHS Secretary Kristi Noem Ousted

Fema staff, both current and former, are voicing relief and celebration over the Thursday dismissal of Kristi Noem, the controversial Homeland Security Secretary who has been heavily criticized for her mismanagement and downsizing of the nation's premier disaster response agency.

Since Noem's confirmation to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in January of last year, her tenure has been defined by a sustained effort to degrade and dismantle the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), which many say has made the US more vulnerable to natural disasters and other crises.

Noem, who has long been vocal about her desire to eliminate Fema altogether, justified the overhaul by claiming the agency had become bloated and inefficient. However, current and former Fema staffers paint a very different picture, describing Noem's actions as a willful undermining of the agency's critical disaster response capabilities.