- FEMA's acting administrator said he was unaware the U.S. had a hurricane season, raising concerns about the agency.
- DHS made a statement saying the agency head was joking.
- The Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1 and will continue through Nov. 30.
The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Monday he didn’t know about the nation’s hurricane season, raising major concerns with some about the agency. The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement saying that the comment was a joke.
Reuters reported that during a Monday briefing, Acting FEMA Administrator David Richardson said that he was not aware the U.S. has a hurricane season, leaving staffers confused. The report, which said it was unclear whether he was serious or joking, had four unnamed sources familiar with the situation.
Richardson joined the agency in May; he previously served in the Marines and worked in the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office of the DHS. After he joined FEMA, some staff “expressed concern about his lack of experience in emergency management,” according to The New York Times.
The agency head’s comment, which was made on the second day of hurricane season, could deepen these concerns as the dangerous season begins.
“Despite meanspirited attempts to falsely frame a joke as policy, there is no uncertainty about what FEMA will be doing this hurricane season. FEMA is laser focused on disaster response, and protecting the American people,” a spokesperson for DHS said, according to NBC.
FEMA, which is housed within DHS, is the federal agency responsible for coordinating government emergency response to people and areas impacted by natural disasters.
“FEMA is laser focused on disaster response, and protecting the American people,” the spokesperson said, according to The Hill. The spokesperson added that FEMA, under Richardson, is “activated in preparation for Hurricane Season.”
When is hurricane season in the U.S.?
The United States’ Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1 and goes through Nov. 30, The Hill reported.
This year’s hurricane season could be unusually heavy, with a total of six to 10 hurricanes, including three to five major ones, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted.
Hurricane season in the U.S. is considered FEMA’s most challenging period, “during which the country is the most vulnerable to large-scale devastating disasters that can overwhelm state and local disaster managers,” according to The New York Times.
Trump administration changes to FEMA
According to NBC, President Donald Trump and his allies have been throwing around the idea of terminating FEMA.
In January, while he was visiting North Carolina to survey damage from Hurricane Helene, Trump suggested overhauling or completely getting rid of the agency, which he called “very bureaucratic” and “very slow.”
Kristi Noem, Homeland Security Secretary, also suggested eliminating FEMA. But, NBC reported that without an alternative plan as hurricane season begins, Noem has made quiet efforts to keep the agency afloat.
Though the agency is still running, major cuts have been made to FEMA over the last few months. Since Trump’s inauguration in January, FEMA has lost around a quarter of its full-time staff, including one-fifth of its coordinating officers who manage large-scale disaster responses, according to The New York Times.
It seems that reforming the agency will continue as DHS has reiterated its intent to upgrade a “bloated, DC-centric dead weight” agency to a “lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief for their citizens.”
“The old processes are being replaced because they failed Americans in real emergencies for decades,” the DHS spokesperson wrote in the statement, per The Hill.
Democrats’ responses to Richardson’s comment
After Reuters reported what Richardson said about hurricane season, Democratic leaders took to social media to comment on Richardson’s capability to do his job.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., referenced the Reuters report in a post on X, saying, “And I’m unaware of why he hasn’t been fired yet.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., also took to social media to make her own comment, writing, “Bare minimum requirement for the leader of FEMA: know when hurricane season is.”
Another response to the report came from Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who wrote on X, “Trump’s FEMA chief is incompetent. People will die.”
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, took to X and wrote, “Wait WHAT?! People are bracing for storms and this man just found out the weather exists?!”