Donald Trump’s recently appointed leader of the struggling Federal Emergency Management Agency stated to staff that he was unaware of the ‘hurricane season’ in the United States.
David Richardson, who has overseen FEMA since early May, disclosed this surprising fact during a recent briefing, according to four sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters.
The context behind his remarks – and whether he meant them to be a joke – was not immediately clear.
However, a representative from FEMA’s parent organization, Kristi Noem’s Department of Homeland Security, insisted that the remarks were made in jest and shouldn’t be interpreted literally.
‘FEMA is shifting from bloated, DC-centric dead weight to a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief for their citizens,’ the spokesperson said.
The Homeland Security rep added that FEMA is prepared for hurricane season, which officially kicked off on Sunday and lasts through November.
David Richardson, who has been in charge of FEMA since early May, made the astounding revelation during a briefing recently, four sources with knowledge of the situation said
Large portions of the United States are placed on varying levels of alerts during the hurricane season, which lasts from June 1 through November
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast last week that this year’s season is expected to bring as many as 10 hurricanes.
Richardson said during the briefing that there would be no changes to the agency’s disaster response plans despite having told staff to expect a new plan in May.
The disaster agency has come under immense scrutiny from Trump who wants to see it shrunk or even eliminated.
Trump has repeatedly argued states could take on many of FEMA’s functions as part of a wider effort to downsize the federal government.
About 2,000 full-time FEMA staff, one-third of its total, have been terminated or voluntarily left the agency since the start of the Trump administration in January.
Richardson, who has no disaster response experience, was appointed as head of FEMA last month after his predecessor, Cameron Hamilton, was abruptly fired.
Hamilton had publicly broken with Trump over the future of the agency, but sources said Trump allies had already been maneuvering to oust him because they were unhappy with what they saw as Hamilton’s slow-moving effort to restructure FEMA.
Before joining FEMA, Richardson was assistant secretary at DHS’ office for countering weapons of mass destruction, which he will reportedly continue to lead.
A spokesperson for FEMA’s parent agency, Kristi Noem’s Department of Homeland Security, maintained the comments were a joke and not to be taken literally
In 2024, four separate hurricanes killed at least 370 Americans during hurricane season
While Noem had previously aligned herself with Trump’s vision to eliminate FEMA, last month she approved a request from Richardson to retain 2,600 short-term disaster response and recovery employees.
These employees had contracts due to expire this year, but they will now be kept on through this hurricane season.
In 2024, four separate hurricanes killed at least 370 Americans during hurricane season.
The most deadly was Hurricane Helene, which tore through Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas in late September and killed 241 people.
Hurricane Milton came shortly after and was expected to be even worse than Helene, but locals who were still picking up the pieces avoided the catastrophic damage which was expected.
Still, 44 people across Florida died in Milton.
The most deadly was Hurricane Helene, which tore through Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas in late September and killed 241 people
Trump traveled to hurricane ravaged North Carolina in the wake of the tragic Hurricane Helene
Hurricane Beryl killed at least 40 people in Texas, while nine people in South Carolina and Florida died in Hurricane Debby.
Experts are alarmed over the large-scale staff reductions, travel and training restrictions and grant cut-offs since Trump took office at both FEMA, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which tracks and forecasts weather events.
‘My nightmare is a major catastrophic storm hitting an area that is reeling from the impact of all of this nonsense from the Trump administration and people will die,’ Susan Cutter, the director of the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute at the University of South Carolina, said.
‘That could happen in Florida, that could happen in Texas, that could happen in South Carolina.’
