The acting head of FEMA left staffers flummoxed after he appeared not to know that the United States had a hurricane season.
David Richardson, who has led the federal disaster response agency since May, seemed unaware of the peak storm period that runs between June 1 and Nov. 30. His remarks to that effect came during a Monday morning all-hands meeting, per a report from Reuters. The FEMA head’s seeming ignorance comes after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted a busier-than-usual hurricane season.
Sources familiar with the meeting who spoke to CBS News said that it was unclear whether or not Richardson was actually uninformed about hurricane season. Some speculated that Richardson was making a joke that didn’t go over well. Either way, the remark was disheartening for employees of the agency that has long been in President Donald Trump’s crosshairs.
Richardson’s fumbling did little to inspire confidence in the man with zero disaster management experience. The former Marine offered a terse message to staffers at the start of his tenure, warning them not to “get in [his] way.”
The president has repeatedly floated the idea of terminating federal disaster relief altogether and leaving states to pick up the pieces after hurricanes, earthquakes and wildfires. Richardson told staffers he would carry out whatever Trump asked with single-minded intensity.
“I will run right over you,” he said. “I will achieve the president’s intent.”
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