Lawmakers have celebrated the resignation of David Richardson, acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Richardson succeeded Cameron Hamilton in May to lead the agency. His brief tenure included weathering the hurricane season in North Carolina, Texas, and Florida. New Mexico received assistance for fires during his time in the role, and Alaska received aid following a typhoon.
Richardson’s tenure received largely negative reviews online. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) implied Richardson was hard to find during the floods in Texas.
“The admin has been trying to gut FEMA since Trump took office,” Castro wrote on X. “They slashed funding and pushed out seasoned emergency management experts. When deadly floods hit Central Texas, David Richardson—the head of FEMA—was nowhere to be found. We owe it to every Texan to demand better.”
The Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee also issued a response on their X account.
“David Richardson was incompetent, inexperienced and had no business running FEMA,” they wrote. “He’ll be remembered for vanishing when the families of Texas needed him most. Good riddance.”
“Hurricane Helene hit western NC more than a year ago, and the federal government has covered only around 10 percent of the storm’s damage. NC needs a FEMA director who will partner to help WNC recover,” Gov. Josh Stein (D-NC) wrote on X.
Other lawmakers who weren’t necessarily affected by any emergencies in recent months also chimed in to ask for better leadership.
“This cannot be overstated – we need an experienced and Senate-confirmed FEMA Administrator who is prepared and able to protect millions of lives. Enough with this dangerous, non-committal governing. Trump needs to send a qualified nominee to the Senate ASAP,” Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) wrote on X.
“Good riddance, Dave! See you never!” Rep. Dave Pallone (D-NJ) wrote on X. “FEMA’s Acting Administrator just put in his two weeks after I called on him to resign for his disastrous running of FEMA and letting hundreds of Americans DROWN on his watch. @Sec_Noem—you taking notes?”
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) suggested that President Donald Trump hasn’t done well picking a FEMA chief.
“Trump’s FEMA director — the guy who replaced the YouTuber — just quit,” Newsom’s press account wrote on X. “FEMA has now been leaderless for over a year. This is what failure looks like.”
Even Richardson’s predecessor implied the next FEMA administrator needed to make improvements.
“Throughout my 2 decades of public service, I was constantly reminded of the reason to serve…the American people. They deserve our absolute best at all times,” Hamilton wrote on X. “Serving at @fema was an honor. I pray the next Administrator understands this and leads by example.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told the Washington Examiner there was “sincere appreciation” for Richardson’s service. They pointed to a forthcoming FEMA Review Council report that will “inform this Administration’s ongoing efforts to fundamentally restructure FEMA.”
ACTING FEMA CHIEF STEPS DOWN BEFORE EXPECTED OUSTING
FEMA has faced scrutiny since former President Joe Biden’s time in office. The agency recently provided a $59 million reimbursement to hotels in New York City, which have been housing and feeding migrants who entered the country illegally.
Last year, there was a reported lack of funding, which didn’t last through the end of the hurricane season that typically ends around Nov. 30, according to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s predecessor, Alejandro Mayorkas. Meanwhile, the agency reported there were twice as many disasters in 2023 as in 2016.