Where in the world is the FEMA head? Agency leader hasn’t been seen in over a week sparking concern
FEMA Acting Administrator David Richardson has been absent during the federal response to the floods in Texas, prompting concerns about his leadership.
Richardson hasn’t visited the site of the floods, the deadliest in the U.S. in a quarter century, ending a longstanding tradition of FEMA leaders being publicly available following natural disasters.
“DHS and its components have taken an all-hands-on-deck approach” to the Texas flooding, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Politico, pointing to aid given by the U.S. Coast Guard and Border Protection. “FEMA has deployed extensive staff to support Texas response and recovery operations based on staff skills and requirements.”
Former FEMA officials told the outlet that Richardson being away from the scene has prompted concerns that the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, is in charge of FEMA’s response to the tragedy.
Noem oversees another 21 agencies aside from FEMA. She visited the central Texas area struck by the flooding on Saturday.
“The secretary has a huge portfolio, and she will quickly get pulled in different directions to handle all of the things she needs to manage. You need the FEMA administrator, whose job is only to manage the disaster,” Biden administration FEMA head Deanne Criswell told the outlet.
Michael Coen, a former FEMA chief of staff, told Politico that Noem taking on a leading role in the response to the floods, “shows governors and emergency managers around the country that when they have a need from the federal government, Richardson is probably not going to be their first call.”
On Wednesday, Richardson was in New Orleans attending a meeting of the panel that President Donald Trump established to recommend changes to FEMA. Richardson is not an official member of the panel and only appeared briefly during the virtual meeting without saying anything.
“President Trump, Secretary Noem, and FEMA have been exceptional partners throughout the flood response,” a spokesperson for Texas Governor Greg Abbott told Politico.
Federal law states the head of FEMA is in charge of the work to “prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against the risk of natural disasters.”
Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, a law handed the administrator more powers and made the FEMA head “the principal advisor on emergency management.”
Most FEMA administrators, such as Richardson’s predecessor, Cameron Hamilton, whom Trump appointed, often visited disaster sites and met with officials on the state and local levels as well as survivors and emergency staff.
An anonymous current FEMA employee told Politico that “When Hamilton was in the role, he was out there doing something to encourage us or announce something or do a photo op with survivors or regional leadership.”
“I have no idea what’s going on with David Richardson’s absence,” they added.
