Staff at the Federal Emergency Management Agency were caught off-guard and left bewildered when the disaster relief agency’s new acting head David Richardson told personnel that he was previously unaware the United States has a hurricane season, which started Sunday.
Richardson made the comments during a briefing Monday morning, multiple sources told CNN. While some interpreted the remark as a joke, others said it raised concerns about the recently appointed acting administrator, who has no prior experience managing natural disasters.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told CNN the comment was made in jest, adding, “FEMA is laser focused on disaster response, and protecting the American people.”
It remains unclear whether Richardson’s comment – joking or not – reflects a lack of knowledge before assuming his current role. In recent weeks, he has repeatedly referenced FEMA’s preparations for hurricane season in meetings and interviews.
Reuters first reported Richardson’s comments in the meeting.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appointed Richardson – a former Marine combat veteran and martial-arts instructor – in early May, firing President Donald Trump’s first acting FEMA chief just hours after he broke from other Trump officials and told lawmakers he did not support eliminating FEMA.
Richardson has promised to enforce Trump’s agenda. In an all-hands meeting on his first day at FEMA, Richardson told agency staff he will “run right over” anyone who tries to prevent him from carrying out the president’s mission, CNN previously reported.
Since then, the Department of Homeland Security has installed more than a half-dozen of its officials into key roles at FEMA to effectively run the agency. Most of them, like Richardson, have little experience handling disasters.
In Monday’s meeting, Richardson announced that FEMA will not release an updated disaster plan for this hurricane season as previously promised, saying the agency does not want to get ahead of Trump’s newly formed FEMA Review Council, sources said.
Instead, FEMA will largely default back to its operating procedure from 2024, though the agency enters this hurricane season in turmoil, with a dramatically smaller workforce.
Roughly 10% of FEMA’s total staff have left since January, including a large swath of its senior leadership, and the agency is projected to lose close to 30% of its workforce by the end of the year, shrinking FEMA from about 26,000 workers to roughly 18,000, according to a FEMA official briefed on the numbers.
In a memo issued last month that was obtained by CNN, Richardson officially rescinded FEMA’s 2022-2026 strategic plan, saying it “contains goals and objectives that bear no connection to FEMA accomplishing its mission.”
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