Federal judge rules Trump administration's firing of FEMA CFO Mary Comans unlawful

U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff (E.D. Va.) ruled on Friday, July 17, 2026, that the Trump administration violated federal civil-service law and due-process protections when it fired FEMA Chief Financial Officer Mary Comans in February 2025. Comans was dismissed, along with three other DHS/FEMA employees, after approving roughly $59 million in grant funding for New York City migrant-shelter operations; the administration argued the president's Article II authority allowed her removal without the notice and hearing procedures Congress requires for career civil servants. Nachmanoff rejected that argument, writing that "for the last 140 years ... the Supreme Court has affirmed the president does not have plenary power to remove inferior officers," and ordered a name-clearing hearing for Comans. Attorney Mark Zaid called the decision the first ruling to establish there is "no Article II authority to terminate officers w/o due process." The ruling is among a series of 2026 court decisions rejecting the administration's "unitary executive" theory of unrestricted removal power over federal employees; DHS did not respond to requests for comment.