President Donald Trump’s acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reportedly told staff that he was not aware that the U.S. has a hurricane season — despite leading the agency primarily responsible for responding to disasters in the U.S.
FEMA chief David Richardson made the comment during a meeting on Monday, according to four sources who spoke to Reuters. Staffers said it was unclear whether his comment was meant as a joke.
The comment was made the day after hurricane season began in the Atlantic Ocean, with the season officially ending in November. Some researchers suggest that the hurricane season is lengthening, however, as the climate crisis drives earlier and later storms, while also making storms stronger than they would be otherwise.
Indeed, forecasters for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have predicted above-normal hurricane activity for 2025. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people are killed by hurricanes each year in the U.S.
In a statement after the report was published, the Department of Homeland Security framed Richardson’s comment as a joke. But the statement didn’t outright deny the comment, calling the report “meanspirited attempts to falsely frame a joke as policy.”
“[T]here is no uncertainty about what FEMA will be doing this Hurricane Season,” the statement said. “FEMA is laser focused on disaster response, and protecting the American people.”
However, Richardson’s comments — as well as President Donald Trump’s flip-flopping on whether he wants to abolish FEMA itself — have reportedly spurred confusion and alarm, leaving even staff concerned over the government’s ability to respond to hurricanes and other disasters.
Trump has suggested that he wants to get rid of or severely shrink FEMA, while Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has publicly announced plans to do so. Though the administration hasn’t fully eliminated the agency yet, FEMA has reportedly drastically reduced trainings for state and local emergency hurricane response, potentially leaving communities across the U.S. shorthanded when a hurricane strikes this year.
At the same time, the administration’s drastic cuts to the National Weather Service have left the agency majorly short staffed, meaning that the government’s ability to predict and track storms is jeopardized.
Further, during the staff meeting on Monday, Richardson reportedly told staff that the agency was scrapping his plan for hurricane response, which he said was almost done. Instead, the agency was going to use last year’s hurricane response plan — which wouldn’t be possible, staff said, with the administration’s cuts to the agency.
Richardson’s appointment has also raised concerns over his ability to lead FEMA, especially through multiple staffing crises. The official has already racked up numerous gaffes in just a few weeks as FEMA director.
During a town hall meeting with staff on the administration’s plan for “FEMA 2.0,” for instance, Richardson bizarrely talked about his girlfriend with “huge red hair” educating him on the size of Texas, and went off on tangents about fruits while trying to discuss the future of the agency. He also speculated on the number of laws governing FEMA, while referencing crucial information he had just learned about FEMA “last week.”
Critics said a FEMA director shouldn’t be making jokes about something as serious as hurricane preparedness, especially when he’s only been in his role for a few weeks and has zero prior experience in emergency management.
“Suffice to say, disaster response is no joke,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi), the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, which has oversight of FEMA. “If you don’t know what or when hurricane season is, you’re not qualified to run FEMA. Get someone knowledgeable in there.”
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