David Richardson, the acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, resigned Monday after about six months leading the agency, two administration officials confirmed to NBC News.
Richardson's short tenure as head of FEMA came during a turbulent period for the agency. President Donald Trump's administration has proposed deep cuts to its budget, and Trump publicly called for it in June. agency will close after hurricane season fades away at the end of November.
In a statement Monday, FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the agency, expressed Richardson's “sincere appreciation” for his dedicated service.
A DHS spokesperson said current FEMA chief of staff Karen Evans will take over as acting administrator effective Dec. 1.
Richardson said Monday he has agreed to serve as interim director during a difficult time. He said he was leaving because he wanted to return to private industry.
“I agreed to serve as administrator during hurricane season when others did not,” Richardson said. “Hurricane season ends on December 1st. Since the danger has largely passed, I can now go in search of other opportunities.”
The White House referred all requests for comment on Richardson's departure to the Department of Homeland Security.
During his tenure as head of FEMA, Richardson strongly criticized for slow response to disastrous July floods it devastated the Texas hill country. Richardson could not be reached for 24 hours after Raging floods kill more than 130 people July 4th, including 27 girls and counselors at Camp Mystic, a summer Christian youth camp.
It was later revealed that Richardson, who had no emergency management experience before becoming acting head of FEMA, I was on holiday over the holiday weekend.
A former Marine Corps officer, Richardson was chosen as the interim head of FEMA in May when previous acting administrator Cameron Hamilton was fired after just a few months in the job. Throughout his tenure at FEMA, Richardson concurrently held another position in the Trump administration – assistant secretary of the National Security Agency for Counter-Weapons of Mass Destruction.
Overall, FEMA has faced renewed criticism this year of its ability to effectively and efficiently respond to hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters, especially as climate change makes some extreme weather events more likely and more intense.
In a telephone interview Monday evening, Richardson said that when he came to FEMA, he understood his role was to “close this agency down.”
But he said the agency's experience dealing with floods in Texas and severe flooding in western Alaska proved the need for agency, albeit on a smaller scale.
“We want to bring this back to the states,” he said. He said he believes states can do more, but he also believes Trump will reform the agency.
In an open letter in AugustAbout 200 FEMA employees criticized the Trump administration's disaster preparedness and emergency management capabilities following the Texas floods.
The letter's signatories wrote that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's requirement that FEMA spending of more than $100,000 be reviewed by her office slowed the agency's response to the deadly disaster. The letter also stated that Richardson and Hamilton lacked the “legal qualifications, Senate confirmation, and demonstrated experience required to be a FEMA administrator.”
At least 21 FEMA employees were placed on administrative leave for signing the letter after it was published.
Richardson said Monday night that the $100,000 cap has not slowed FEMA's response.
“Anything life-threatening, we didn’t go over the $100,000 limit,” he said.
Richardson replaced Hamilton a few weeks before the start of hurricane season, after Hamilton said during testimony on Capitol Hill that he believed it was “not in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency.”
This position contradicted Trump's proposal that FEMA should be disbanded and individual states should instead step in to respond to natural disasters.
In June, Noem told NBC News' “Meet the Press” that Trump did not want to completely dismantle the agency, but rather overhaul it.
Some of Richardson's critics welcomed news of his resignation Monday, including Raphael Lemaitre, FEMA's former communications director. Lemaitre serves on the advisory board of Sabotage Our Security, an advocacy group that focuses on disaster preparedness and emergency response.
“Putting someone with zero disaster management experience in charge of FEMA is like putting someone in the cockpit who has never flown an airplane during a hurricane,” he said in a statement.
Democratic members of the House Homeland Security Committee also welcomed Richardson's departure.
“David Richardson was incompetent, inexperienced and had no connection to FEMA,” he said. the group wrote on X. “He will be remembered for disappearing when Texas families needed him most. Good riddance.”
