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Senator Adam SchiffD-Calif., Asked multiple federal agencies that exempt federal seasonal firefighters of the executive order of President Donald Trump that implement a federal contracting freezing.
In a letter to the Department of Agriculture, the Department of the Interior and the Office of Management and Budget, Schiff said that Trump’s hiring freezes issued on January 20 had arrested the incorporation of thousands of seasonal firefighters who could damage the preparation to respond to forest fires, since the southern California is still dealing with the consequences of forest fires last month.
“The memorandum issued on January 20 establishes that it does not apply to positions related to public safety, but this delay of incorporation is directly contrary to that statement,” Schiff said in the letter dated Friday. “Our constituents and communities trust the hard work and sacrifice of our more than 15,000 federal firefighters of the federal seasons every year.”
Adam Schiff talks to the media after voting at the McCambridge recreation center in Burbank on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
“Seasonal firefighters are essential for the public safety of those living in fire -prone areas, and I am alarmed that federal firefighters are not part of this exemption,” he said. “In the light of this, I request information from their agencies that explain why the freezing of federal hiring has extended to the hiring of federal firefighters of the Station Federals.”
South California was devastated last month by two important forest fires and several smaller ones who killed almost 30 people and destroyed more than 16,000 structures.
Some of the firefighters subject to the Trump order that arrested the incorporation of thousands of seasonal federal firefighters were agencies that helped in the response to forest fires in the Los Angeles area, according to NBC News.
A fire firefighter works during the Eaton fire on Wednesday, January 8, 2025 in Altadena, California. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times through Getty Images)
An official of the Land Management Office told The Outlet that despite Trump’s order, excluding positions related to “public security” of contracting freezing, federal firefighters are not exempt.
“Given the increasingly destructive forest fires, we cannot afford to reduce the tools at our disposal to combat these fires,” Schiff said in his letter. “Prevent the incorporation of federal firefighters and encourage the early retirement of others, threatens the ability to extinction of California fire and puts communities at great risk. Californians trust the support of federal firefighters, and I hope you share My thanks for the essential role in which these people play keeping residents safe. “
The vehicles and a house burned as powerful winds that feed the devastating forest fires in the Los Angeles area forced people to evacuate the Eaton fire in Altadena, California, on January 8, 2025. (Reuters/David Swanson)
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The senator also requested information on how freezing hiring impacts federal fire applicants, the number of voluntary resignations and the government of government efficiency led by Elon Musk in the hiring, preparation or preparation of federal firefighters of forest forests.
