The head of FEMA, America’s federal disaster relief agency, resigned on Monday after facing steep criticism that he was simply unable to do his job.
David Richardson was acting director of FEMA for just six months, a tenure that was defined by the agency’s future being constantly cast into doubt as Donald Trump wielded disaster relief efforts as a political weapon against Democratic politicians and their voters.
In October, his agency denied Marylanders assistance in dealing with flood damage that took place over the summer. But his fate was likely sealed earlier in the year.
Texas’ Hill Country experienced massive flooding along the Guadalupe River and on July 4 washed away a childrens’ campground, Camp Mystic, which was situated in a federally designated flood zone. The flood waters killed 27 people at the campground, including 25 children, while more than 100 deaths were reported elsewhere across the state, mostly in Kerr County.
Richardson was criticized for the agency’s slow response to the catastrophic flooding and had been on vacation, and unreachable, at the time. He may have also misled lawmakers about his availability after the fact.
Upon taking over the agency, Richardson boldly lectured FEMA’s staff of experts and people with real experience in the field to “stay out of my way”. His appointment followed Trump’s declaration in January that he might “get rid” of the disaster relief agency altogether.
“What [FEMA is] going to look like in the end, we’ll find out,” he declared at a meeting on his first day on the job, adding: “I and I alone speak for FEMA.”
But he was the subject of ridicule in the press, especially after he showed up weeks late, wearing a straw hat, and apparently dressed “incognito” without FEMA identification to avoid questions from members of the media on his trip to the affected region
CNN and other networks reported that Richardson was awaiting termination when he resigned on Monday, heading off those headlines to some degree.
Other reporting revealed the depths of his unpreparedness for the job. In June, DHS officials angrily insisted that Richardson was joking when the Trump appointee, who had no actual experience in such a job, told other staff at at meeting that he didn’t realize the U.S. had a hurricane “season”.
A spokesperson for DHS told The New York Times that Richardson was returning to the private sector and contended that he’d been successful in “refocusing the agency to deliver swift resources to Americans in crisis.”
But agency officials told The Independent on Monday that as of mid-afternoon, no notice had been given to ground-level employees that the boss had quit.
Just last month, Maryland’s two Democratic senators blamed Richardson and DHS for refusing to do their jobs altogether. The anger was even more intensely felt by residents of Maryland’s western mountain regions, a comparatively redder area than the central part of the state, who blamed Trump and Republicans for abandoning them.
“We are incredibly disappointed in this decision. Our application for FEMA assistance met—and in many areas exceeded—every requirement for federal aid. Allegany County is a small, rural Appalachian community, and this denial leaves us feeling forgotten by the federal government,” said Allegany County Commission President Dave Caporale in a news release at the time.
Sens. Angela Alsobrooks and Chris Van Hollen attacked Trump directly over the decision. Alsobrooks wrote: “Marylanders pay into our government with the expectation it will be there for them when disaster strikes. Trump cares more about supporting billionaires than supporting Americans facing disaster.”
