President Donald Trump’s acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency told staff he was unaware that the US had a hurricane season, but authorities insisted he was just kidding.
David Richardson, who has no experience in disaster management before, told the All-Hand Conference at the country’s leading disaster response agencies on Monday that he had no idea there would be a hurricane season that starts on June 1 and runs until November 30th.
A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security pushed back the news accounts in Richardson’s statement, calling it a “meaning attempt to misframe jokes as policy.”
![David Richardson](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 620 802"/%3E "David Richardson")
“There is no uncertainty about how FEMA will be doing this hurricane season. FEMA focuses on disaster response and protects Americans,” said a representative for the DHS, adding that Richardson is “invigorating” because of his important role.
FEMA staff say the agency has been disrupted by deep staff and programmatic cuts designed by the Ministry of Government Efficiency in Elion Musk.
Trump has repeatedly said he wants to completely dismantle the agency and hand over disaster relief and recovery to the state.
Critics say it’s a disaster recipe, as only a few large states, like Florida, Texas and California, have the organization’s know-how or financial ability to respond to major disasters.
Trump appointed Richardson last month and took the helm of FEMA after suddenly firing fire on his first appointed proxy administrator, Cameron Hamilton.
Hamilton was banished shortly after saying he didn’t believe the agency should be eliminated as Trump suggests, but the administration has denied why he got the x.
Confusion comes at the worst possible time for FEMA. This should focus on preparing for what is expected to be another busy summer.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted seasons that exceed the usual season this year, during which time between 6 and 10 hurricanes were able to land on the US continent.
FEMA led the recovery efforts from Hurricane Helen last year, robbing the path of devastation from the Florida Gulf Coast to western North Carolina.
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