FEMA Acting Administrator David Richardson has been absent during the federal response to the floods in Texas, prompting concerns about his leadership.
Richardson hasn’t visited the site of the floods, the deadliest in the U.S. in a quarter century, ending a longstanding tradition of FEMA leaders being publicly available following natural disasters.
“DHS and its components have taken an all-hands-on-deck approach” to the Texas flooding, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Politico, pointing to aid given by the U.S. Coast Guard and Border Protection. “FEMA has deployed extensive staff to support Texas response and recovery operations based on staff skills and requirements.”
Former FEMA officials told the outlet that Richardson being away from the scene has prompted concerns that the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, is in charge of FEMA’s response to the tragedy.
Noem oversees another 21 agencies aside from FEMA. She visited the central Texas area struck by the flooding on Saturday.
“The secretary has a huge portfolio, and she will quickly get pulled in different directions to handle all of the things she needs to manage. You need the FEMA administrator, whose job is only to manage the disaster,” Biden administration FEMA head Deanne Criswell told the outlet.
Michael Coen, a former FEMA chief of staff, told Politico that Noem taking on a leading role in the response to the floods, “shows governors and emergency managers around the country that when they have a need from the federal government, Richardson is probably not going to be their first call.”
On Wednesday, Richardson was in New Orleans attending a meeting of the panel that President Donald Trump established to recommend changes to FEMA. Richardson is not an official member of the panel and only appeared briefly during the virtual meeting without saying anything.
“President Trump, Secretary Noem, and FEMA have been exceptional partners throughout the flood response,” a spokesperson for Texas Governor Greg Abbott told Politico.
Federal law states the head of FEMA is in charge of the work to “prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against the risk of natural disasters.”
Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, a law handed the administrator more powers and made the FEMA head “the principal advisor on emergency management.”
Most FEMA administrators, such as Richardson’s predecessor, Cameron Hamilton, whom Trump appointed, often visited disaster sites and met with officials on the state and local levels as well as survivors and emergency staff.
An anonymous current FEMA employee told Politico that “When Hamilton was in the role, he was out there doing something to encourage us or announce something or do a photo op with survivors or regional leadership.”
“I have no idea what’s going on with David Richardson’s absence,” they added.
Hamilton departed the administration after telling a congressional committee that FEMA shouldn’t be shut down, seemingly in violation of Trump’s promises to eliminate the agency.
Criswell noted that while it was positive Noem visited Texas on Saturday, it’s more important for the FEMA administrator to be there, since “they’re the ones that need to direct the appropriate resources.”
“The importance of me being on the ground was being able to talk to local officials, talk to the people that have been impacted, see firsthand what the damages are — and make sure FEMA was directing the appropriate resources as fast as possible into the appropriate area,” Noem told Politico.
Following his appointment on May 8, Richardson has made no public appearances or statements. He has chosen not to establish an official X account, unlike the four previous administrators, three of whom were Trump appointees.
He left the Marine Corps in 2013 after serving for 22 years and has been the assistant secretary for DHS’ Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office since Trump returned to the White House.
The Independent has contacted FEMA and DHS for comment.
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