The Trump administration has ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to suspend the deployment of hundreds of aid workers to disaster-torn areas around the US while the Department of Homeland Security is shut down, according to sources and internal messages obtained by CNN.
The new edict comes even though most deployments are paid for through a Disaster Relief Fund that isn’t affected by the shutdown.
One internal message to FEMA leaders on Tuesday said DHS, which oversees the agency, has “directed FEMA to stop all travel.” The order took effect today.
Any travel to areas still recovering from severe storms will now require sign-off from leaders at DHS, which oversees FEMA.
More than 300 FEMA disaster responders were preparing for upcoming assignments but told to stand down, including some who are currently at a training facility, according to the agency messages.
Weeks before the shutdown, amid efforts to overhaul FEMA and cut costs, DHS leaders had been discussing travel restrictions, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
Disaster recovery work and travel are typically funded through FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, which is a separate pool of money appropriated by Congress and not affected by the current lapse in DHS funding, multiple sources said. As of December, the DRF had roughly $7 billion available.
“So it’s not because the money isn’t there,” a FEMA source told CNN.
DHS and FEMA did not respond to requests for comment.