United States: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials were surprised on Monday when the head of the US disaster agency claimed not to have known that a hurricane season exists, according to reports from insiders.
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It was brought up by David Richardson, who has served as FEMA head since early May, during a briefing. Employees had difficulty figuring out if he spoke in jest, meant it fully, or was just being unclear.
Sunday marked the beginning of the US hurricane season, which will continue through November.
On the basis of final observations last year, the NOAA forecast expects up to 10 hurricanes in 2023.
FEMA’s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, stated the comment was made in jest and that FEMA is fully ready for hurricane season.
(Reuters) – Staff of the Federal Emergency Management Agency were left baffled on Monday after the head of the U.S. disaster agency said during a briefing that he had not been aware the country has a hurricane seasonhttps://t.co/rnqPqSvySA
— Sam Stein (@samstein) June 2, 2025
According to the spokesperson, under Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Richardson, “FEMA is shifting from bloated, DC-centric dead weight to a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief for their citizens,” Reuters reported.
Richardson stated during the briefing that there would be no changes to how the agency handles disasters despite telling staff a new plan was coming in May.
Richardson made his comments when other people were concerned that the many departures, budget cuts, and reduced staff at FEMA could leave the agency not ready for a coming storm season that may be busier than average.
After the Reuters report, Democrats attacked Richardson. The Senate’s top Democrat posted the Reuters report on Richardson on X, saying he was unclear why he had yet to be fired.
Representative Bennie Thompson, who heads the Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee overseeing FEMA, said to Reuters:
“Suffice to say, disaster response is no joke. If you don’t know what or when hurricane season is, you’re not qualified to run FEMA. Get someone knowledgeable in there.”