Adam Schiff talks to the media after voting at McCambridge Recreation Center in Burbank on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
"Seasonal firefighters are essential to the public safety of those who live in fire-prone areas, and I am alarmed that federal firefighters are not party to this exemption," he said. "In light of this, I am requesting information from your agencies explaining why the federal hiring freeze has extended to the hiring of seasonal federal wildland firefighters."
Southern California was devastated last month by two major wildfires and several smaller ones that killed nearly 30 people and destroyed more than 16,000 structures.
Some of the firefighters subject to Trump's order that halted the onboarding of thousands of seasonal federal firefighters were from agencies that helped in the response to the wildfires in the Los Angeles area, according to NBC News.
Vehicles and a house burned as powerful winds fueling devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area forced people to evacuate the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, Jan. 8, 2025. (REUTERS/David Swanson)
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The senator also requested information on how the hiring freeze impacts federal firefighting applicants, the number of voluntary resignations and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency's role in the hiring, preparedness or readiness of federal wildland firefighters.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sen-schiff-urges-trump-admin-exclude-firefighters-from-federal-hiring-freeze