The interim administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, David Richardson, was joking when he said in a meeting on Monday that he was not aware of the next hurricane season, said the National Security Department in a statement.
Reuters reported that Richardson said in an informative session that he did not know that the United States has a hurricane season, confusing employees. The report, which said it was not clear if Richardson was serious or joked, cited four unidentified sources familiar with the situation.
“Despite the evil attempts to falsely frame a joke as a policy, there is no uncertainty about what Fema will do this hurricane season. FEMA is focused on the response to disasters and the protection of the American people,” a town of Speke Sperson spoke. The spokesman added that Richardson is “activated in preparation for the hurricane season.”
Richardson tok the reins in Fema last month. The previous interim administrator, Cameron Hamilton, was withdrawn from his work after he told the legislators at an audience of the Congress that he did not believe that the agency was eliminated. DHS has denied that Hamilton’s expulsion was related to his testimony.
FEMA is responsible for coordinating government emergency response to areas affected by natural disasters, such as hurricanes. The hurricane season extends from June to November. The Oceanic and Atmospheric National Administration predicted that there is a probability of 60% of a season greater than normal this year, the duration that the United States could six to 10 hurricanes, from three to five of which could be “important.”
The Democrats criticized Richardson after the report on the meeting.
The senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., referred to the Reuters report when he wrote in X, “and I am not aware of why he has been fired.”
Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-minn., He also points to Richardson, writing in X, “Minimum requirement for the FEMA leader: know when the hurricane is.”
President Donald Trump and his allies have repeatedly floated the idea of finishing the emergency disaster agency.
Duration A visit to North Carolina in January to examine the damage of Hurricane Helene, who swept the state at the end of last year, Trump suggested to review or eliminate Fet, calling it “very bureaucratic” and “very slow.”
The Secretary of National Security, Kristi Name, also suggested that FEMA should be eliminated. But without an alternative plan and with the hurricane season, the name has also made silence to keep the agency in operation, the sources familiar with the situation have told