Acting FEMA Administrator Resigned

David Richardson (R) has Resigned as Acting Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Injecting even Greater Uncertainty into the Trump (R) Administration’s Plans to Overhaul the Federal Role in Disaster Response. Karen Evans (R), a Senior Political Appointee at FEMA who earlier this year, Led an Overhaul of the Federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), will take Over as Acting FEMA Administrator Dec. 1st, which oversees both Agencies. Ms. Evans, like Richardson, lacks Experience in Emergency Management, which is a Legal Requirement to Lead FEMA.

Ms. Evans has played a Central Role in the Trump Administration’s efforts to Cut Costs at FEMA. Earlier this year, She Rejected many FEMA Spending Requests before they could reach the Desk of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem (I), who has Imposed a Requirement that She Personally Approve any Expense over $100,000, the Three People said.

Tricia McLaughlin (R), a Spokeswoman for the Homeland Security Department, said Richardson was Returning to the Private Sector and Thanked Him for His work “refocusing the agency to deliver swift resources to Americans in crisis.” Trump has suggested Eliminating or Overhauling FEMA, with an eye toward Shifting more Responsibility for Disaster response to the States. The Administration is expected to Release a Report in the coming weeks detailing its Plans to Reshape FEMA’s role in Disasters across the Country.

That Report “will inform this administration’s ongoing efforts to fundamentally restructure FEMA, transforming it from its current form into a streamlined, mission-focused disaster-response force,” Ms. McLaughlin said in a Statement.

Ms. Evans, who had worked in the First Trump Administration, was previously National Director of the U.S. Cyber Challenge, a Private Initiative focused on Building the Country’s Cybersecurity Work Force, and worked in Information Technology for Her Company. She was the Chief Information Officer at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) during the George W. Bush (R) Administration.

Richardson, who served in the Marines, was Named Acting FEMA Administrator in May, Replacing Cameron Hamilton, who was Pushed-Out a Day, after telling Members of Congress that FEMA was Vital to Communities “in their greatest times of need” and should Not be Eliminated. His Resignation was First Reported by The Washington Post. When He was tapped for FEMA, Richardson was the Assistant Secretary at the Homeland Security Department’s (DHS) Office for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction. Richardson maintained Both Jobs.

After Richardson joined FEMA, some of His Employees expressed Concern about His Lack of Experience. He told Employees in June, that He did Not know the U.S. had a Hurricane Season, a Comment that Unnerved FEMA Employees who heard it. The Agency later said Richardson was Joking.

Richardson had faced Criticism from both Republicans and Democrats over His Lack of Responsiveness following the July 4th Floods in Texas Hill Country, after the Washington Post Reported He had been Unreachable in the Initial hours after the Disaster. In a Statement Responding to Richardson’s Resignation, Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ, 11th District) said, “good riddance.” “Americans deserve a FEMA leader with at least the most basic core competencies in emergency management, something David Richardson never demonstrated,” Pallone said.

In June, Trump said He wanted to Eliminate FEMA in November, after the Hurricane Season Ended and move Emergency Management efforts “back to the state level.” After Deadly Texas Floods in July, when many Americans were focused on the Rescue efforts, the Administration’s Rhetoric Softened and Officials spoke instead of Reforming the Agency.

Still, more than 2,000 Employees have Left FEMA since Trump took Office, Accounting for about One-Third of the Agency’s Permanent Work Force. Those who Resigned included some of the Agency’s most Accomplished Leaders. A Task Force of Local, State, and Federal Emergency Managers has been Studying Reforms to the Agency that could Raise the Threshold for a Disaster that Warrants Federal Intervention, Change how Disaster Aid is Paid to States, and End FEMA’s Role in the Long Term Recovery of Disaster Struck Communities.

The Panel, known as the FEMA Review Council, was required to Release its Recommendations by Sunday, under an Executive Order Trump issued in May. An Administration Officials said the Report is expected by the End of 2025. Emergency Management Officials around the Country are eager for its Release to Understand what they can expect from FEMA in the Future.

“We’re all anxiously waiting to see what it says,” Bryan Fisher, Director of the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said Saturday at a Resource Fair for Victims of Typhoon Halong, which Hit Southwestern Alaska last month.

Since the Texas Floods, there has Not been a Major Test of the Agency’s evolving Disaster Response Strategy, under which FEMA has added New Hurdles to some Grant Programs and Stretched the Limits of a Dwindling Pot of Money used to Pay for Disaster Aid. In recent months, Trump hasDdeclared Federal Disasters in Alaska, where Remnants of a Typhoon Devastated Coastal Villages, and across the Plains, where Severe Storms and Tornadoes Damaged Communities.

But the Wildfire Season has been Calmer than expected in the West. And it has been a Relatively Mild Atlantic Hurricane Season in the East, with the most Destructive Storms avoiding Landfall in the U.S.










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