The Trump administration has ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to halt the deployment of aid workers during the partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security. FEMA, which is part of DHS, is the federal agency that sends personnel to assist those affected by natural disasters nationwide. Its self-described mission is “helping people before, during, and after disasters.”
The suspension went into effect on Feb. 18, Reuters reported.
“DHS has issued a stop-travel order for all DHS funded travel, effecting 2/18/26, for the duration of the lapse in appropriation. Currently this DOES include disaster travel,” read an email from Kurt Weirich, a chief of staff at FEMA.
The suspension of FEMA workers could limit recovery efforts for natural disasters in the United States. In 2026, there are currently 17 known disaster declarations across the country, most of which followed the winter storms that hit the country in January. The most recent disaster declarations are from the Oklahoma wildfires from earlier this week. Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-OK) declared a state of emergency in Oklahoma on Tuesday because of the fires.
The partial government shutdown began on Saturday, after Congress was unable to reach a funding agreement for the federal agency primarily related to Democrats’ objections over illegal immigration enforcement efforts implemented by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is also part of DHS. Other federal agencies affected by the partial shutdown are the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, and the Transportation Security Administration.
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The decision to suspend deployments came as FEMA responders were preparing for future disaster recovery efforts, including cleaning up the recent sewage spill in the Potomac River. Additionally, Reuters reported that 300 FEMA personnel were preparing for deployment before being told to “stand down.”
Regarding the suspension of FEMA disaster response deployments, a FEMA spokesperson said that it was “not a choice but are necessary to comply with federal law,” according to CNN. The spokesperson also said that any disaster response efforts currently in place, would not be affected by the shutdown deployment suspension.
“FEMA travel related to active disasters is not canceled,” the spokesperson told CNN.
