San FranciscoJudge Susan Illston blocked disaster-agency cuts Friday.
The ruling tests whether courts can stop an agency being hollowed out by understaffing.
A 2005 US law passed after Hurricane Katrina bars Homeland Security from significantly weakening the disaster agency.
Illston will rule on reversing the cuts next month.
How each outlet framed it
drawn from 30+ reports worldwide
- Al Jazeera Online
- grounds ruling in post-Katrina legal framework establishing FEMA independence from DHS authority reduction
Sources: Al Jazeera Online