Page 13 - AHATA

A2 U.S. NEWS
Tuesday 26 augusT 2025
Some FEMA staff call out Trump cuts in public letter of dissent

By GABRIELA AOUN Hamilton, was fired in May
ANGUEIRA and replaced by another
Associated Press acting head, David Rich-
More than 180 current ardson.
and former employees of Neither has prior emergen-
the Federal Emergency cy management experi-
Management Agency ence.
published a letter Mon- FEMA's response to the July
day warning that debili- Texas floods that killed at
tating cuts to the agency least 136 people came un-
charged with handling fed- der criticism after reports
eral disaster response risks that survivor calls to FEMA
a catastrophe like the one went unanswered and Ur-
seen after Hurricane Ka- ban Search and Rescue
trina. teams deployed late be-
"Our shared commitment cause of a policy by which
to our country, our oaths Homeland Security Secre-
of office, and our mission tary Kristi Noem must per-
of helping people before, sonally approve expendi-
during, and after disasters tures above $100,000.
compel us to warn Con- The letter contains six
gress and the American "statements of opposition"
people of the cascading to current policies at FEMA,
effects of decisions made Camper's belongings sit outside one of Camp Mystic's cabins near the Guadalupe River after a including the expenditure
by the current administra- flash flood swept through the area, July 7, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. Associated Press approval policy, which the
tion," the letter states. signatories say reduces FE-
The statement in it is note- more than 1,800 people "Two decades later, FEMA ers from mostly Republi- MA's ability to perform its
worthy not only for its con- died and profound failures is enacting processes and can states that President missions.
tent but for its overall exis- in the federal response leadership structures that Donald Trump appointed It also critiques the DHS
tence; a fierce approach prompted Congress to pass echo the conditions PKEM- to suggest reforms to an decision to reassign some
toward critics by the Trump the Post-Katrina Emergen- RA was designed to pre- agency he has repeatedly FEMA employees to Immi-
administration has caused cy Management Reform vent," it states. threatened to eliminate. gration and Customs En-
many in the federal gov- Act of 2006. It comes amid uncertainty It comes after months of forcement, the failure to
ernment to hesitate be- The letter warns that poor for FEMA upheaval at FEMA. One- appoint a qualified FEMA
fore locking heads with the management and eroded The letter is addressed to third of the agency's full- administrator as stipulated
White House. capacity at FEMA could the FEMA Review Council, time workforce has left or by law, and cuts to mitiga-
The letter coincides with undo progress made to im- a 12-person group of elect- been fired, including many tion programs, prepared-
the 20th anniversary week prove the agency through ed officials, emergency high-level staff. The agen- ness training and FEMA
of Hurricane Katrina, when that law. managers and other lead- cy's acting chief, Cameron workforce.q

House committee subpoenas Epstein’s estate for documents,

including birthday book and contacts

By STEPHEN GROVES nal lawmakers try to deter- Republicans and Demo- his last will and testament, the federal investigation
Associated Press mine who was connected crats to respond to public agreements he signed with into Epstein. It has also re-
WASHINGTON (AP) — The to the disgraced financier clamor for more disclosure prosecutors, his contact leased transcripts of inter-
House Oversight Commit- and whether prosecutors in the investigation into Ep- books, and his financial views conducted with Ghis-
tee subpoenaed the estate mishandled his case. stein, who was found dead transactions and holdings. laine Maxwell, his former
of the late Jeffrey Epstein The committee’s subpoena in his New York jail cell in Comer wrote to the execu- girlfriend.
on Monday as congressio- is the latest effort by both 2019. Lawmakers are trying tors of Epstein’s estate that But Democrats on the com-
to guide an investigation the committee “is review- mittee have not been satis-
into who among Epstein’s ing the possible misman- fied with those efforts, say-
high-powered social circle agement of the federal ing that the some 33,000
may have been aware of government’s investigation pages of documents
his sexual abuse of teen- of Mr. Jeffrey Epstein and they’ve received are most-
age girls, delving into a Ms. Ghislaine Maxwell, the ly already public.
criminal case that has circumstances and subse- “DOJ’s limited disclosure
spurred conspiracy theo- quent investigations of Mr. raises more questions than
ries and roiled top officials Epstein’s death, the opera- answers and makes clear
in President Donald Trump’s tion of sex-trafficking rings that the White House is not
administration. and ways for the federal interested in justice for the
The subpoena, signed by government to effectively victims or the truth,” Rep.
Rep. James Comer, the Re- combat them, and po- Robert Garcia, the top
publican chair of the over- tential violations of ethics Democrat on the House
sight committee, and dat- rules related to elected of- Oversight Committee, said
ed Monday, demands that ficials.” in a statement.
Epstein’s estate provide The Justice Department, Pressure from lawmakers to
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.,
speaks to reporters as he arrives for a deposition with former Congress with documents trying to distance Trump release more information
Attorney General Bill Barr, on Capitol Hill Monday, Aug 18, 2025, including a book that was and Epstein, last week be- is likely to only grow when
in Washington. compiled with notes from gan handing over to law- Congress returns to Wash-
Associated Press friends for his 50th birthday, makers documentation of ington next week.q