FEMA Chief Resigns After Controversy as DHS Overhauls Leadership
The acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is stepping aside after hurricane season, closing out a short and turbulent tenure that drew national attention and internal pushback. David Richardson submitted his resignation Monday to the Department of Homeland Security — the agency that oversees FEMA — giving two weeks’ notice before departing.
DHS confirmed the move to CNN, though three sources told the outlet that plans were already in motion to remove Richardson before he stepped down. Richardson, a loyalist to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, was appointed to the role despite lacking direct experience in disaster management — a point critics within the bureaucracy never stopped highlighting.
His time at the helm was marked by a series of controversies amplified by left-leaning media, including a June meeting where he reportedly said he “did not know the United States had a hurricane season.” DHS later said the remark was made in jest, but internal critics used the moment to intensify their push to oust him.
Richardson’s resignation comes as FEMA prepares for significant structural reforms under Noem’s direction — reforms aimed at modernizing an agency that has long struggled with bureaucratic bloat and uneven disaster response.
According to a FEMA official familiar with the transition, Karen Evans — a respected Trump administration ally who recently became FEMA’s chief of staff — will assume leadership on December 1.
DHS thanked Richardson “for his dedicated service and wish him continued success in his return to the private sector.”
Texas Flooding Became the Flashpoint
Richardson faced his toughest test in July when catastrophic flooding devastated Texas. During the crisis, he was on vacation and, according to reports, unreachable for several hours — a detail critics quickly seized on. Richardson later told lawmakers he spent the trip in his truck, closely monitoring events and coordinating with staff.
He did not appear publicly during the flooding and did not travel to the disaster area until more than a week later — after President Donald Trump and Secretary Noem had already visited the region and met with families affected by the devastation.
Richardson’s unannounced arrival — wearing a straw hat, cowboy boots, and no FEMA insignia — raised eyebrows among Washington observers accustomed to the polished, optics-driven approach of prior administrations.
Still, Richardson defended the response, calling it a “model for how to respond to a disaster.”
In his resignation statement Monday, he emphasized that he accepted the job when few others were willing to do so.
“I agreed to be the acting administrator through hurricane season when others wouldn’t,” he said. “Hurricane season ends on 1 December. Since the danger has largely passed, I can now leave for other opportunities. Many were asked. One raised his hand and said, ‘I’ll do it.’”
A Marine veteran, martial arts instructor, painter, and former head of DHS’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction office, Richardson brought a diverse background to FEMA — but no experience in natural disaster management when he was appointed in May.
His predecessor, Cameron Hamilton — also appointed under Trump — was fired after clashing with senior DHS leadership and resisting early discussions about restructuring FEMA.
“He never should have been there to begin with,” Hamilton told CNN. “The two words I’d use to describe him are unprofessional and overwhelmed.”
Internal Tensions and a Shift in FEMA’s Direction
Richardson’s appointment reflected a broader shift as DHS assumed greater direct control over FEMA, installing political allies to replace career emergency managers long entrenched within the agency’s bureaucracy.
On his first day, Richardson reportedly told staff he alone would speak for FEMA and warned he would “run right over” anyone who challenged his authority. Critics described him as unpredictable and occasionally confrontational. One employee even claimed he once asked whether disaster funds could be directed to Republican communities but not Democratic ones.
He frequently barred staff from bringing phones or laptops into meetings, avoided using email, and kept his own device hidden — procedural quirks that fueled communication challenges across the agency.
Over time, Noem and other DHS leaders grew frustrated with Richardson’s management style and his reluctance — or inability — to publicly articulate the administration’s FEMA reforms. He was blocked from speaking at conventions and sidelined from hurricane-preparedness campaigns.
“Have you heard him speak?” one administration official told CNN. “He does more damage than good.”
In recent months, DHS reassigned several of Richardson’s allies and installed new senior officials who further restricted his authority, effectively waiting for hurricane season to end before finalizing his departure.