FEMA Scales to Emergency Mode, Suspends All Non-Disaster Grant Work
February 26, 2026 · 2 min read
David Almeida
Eight days into the Department of Homeland Security partial shutdown, FEMA announced it has shifted to emergency operating status, scaling back to bare-minimum, life-saving operations and ceasing all non-essential activities.
What's Stopped
FEMA's grants management system is offline. The agency cannot process payments for non-disaster grants or certain disaster grants. Billions of dollars in funding for first responders — firefighters, police departments, emergency managers — remain unspent. All National Fire Academy classes have been cancelled. Support for state, local, tribal, and territorial preparedness programs is suspended.
For organizations holding active FEMA awards, reimbursement requests are queued but not moving. New applications are not being reviewed. Technical assistance sessions have been postponed indefinitely.
Why the Pain Is Concentrated
The DHS partial shutdown began February 14 after Congress failed to pass the agency's funding — the last of 12 FY2026 appropriations bills. Senate Democrats blocked the original bill amid demands for immigration enforcement oversight reforms following the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis.
As of February 26, the shutdown has entered its 12th day with no resolution in sight. Unlike previous government shutdowns that spread pain across the entire federal apparatus, this one concentrates it on FEMA, TSA, the Coast Guard, and immigration agencies — amplifying the impact on any organization that relies on DHS-administered grants.
State and tribal programs that depend on cost-sharing models face the sharpest disruption: expenses incurred during the freeze will go unreimbursed for weeks, straining staffing and service delivery in communities that depend on federal preparedness dollars.
What Grant Holders Should Do Now
Assume at least two more weeks of disruption. Document all costs incurred during the freeze, track which staff and programs are affected, and preserve records of any canceled training or postponed projects. When funding resumes, agencies typically process backlogs quickly — clean records will speed your reimbursement.
For organizations seeking alternative preparedness and public safety funding while FEMA is offline, Granted can surface state-level and foundation alternatives. Deeper analysis of the shutdown's grant impact is available on the Granted blog.