Shaheen Joins Colleagues in Urging Trump Administration to Reverse Course on Hiring Freeze for Seasonal Firefighters

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) joined 15 of her Senate colleagues, led by U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), in sending a letter urging the Trump Administration to reverse course and restart the hiring of seasonal firefighters. Recent reports indicate that the Trump Administration’s hiring freeze is preventing the hiring and onboarding of seasonal firefighters, a workforce that already struggles with recruitment and retention. Seasonal firefighters are critical to forest protection and wildfire management, including those that are called on to respond from New Hampshire's White Mountain National Forest.

The Senators wrote, in part: “We write today following reports that hiring and onboarding for federal seasonal firefighters has stopped due to the Trump Administration’s federal hiring freeze. We are extremely concerned to hear that this is happening across the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park Service ahead of what’s expected to be another devastating wildfire year.”

They continued: “Although there is an urgent need to hire more federal firefighters, the Trump Administration’s hiring freeze does the opposite and is pausing hiring at a critical time for this already understaffed workforce. We urge you to put the safety of families and communities across the country first and allow the federal seasonal firefighter hiring process to continue without delay.”

The full letter can be found here.

As a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, Shaheen has consistently secured resources to support New Hampshire’s firefighters. During the ongoing Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations process, Shaheen has pushed to increase funding to $385 million for both the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) programs, an increase of $122 million over FY 2024. Shaheen also recently helped introduce the bipartisan Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act to expand access to federal support for the families of firefighters and other first responders who pass away or become permanently disabled from service-related cancers. Last year, Shaheen celebrated the announcement of more than $2.9 million in federal funding to support Granite State firefighters.

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