DHS Says Acting FEMA Chief’s Hurricane Remark Was Just a Joke

The man in charge of FEMA, David Richardson, is in the headlines, but not for the preparations to deal with natural disasters. The acting head of FEMA, David Richardson, joked that “he didn’t know the U.S. had a hurricane season” during a Monday staff briefing, as reported by Reuters. The statement was immediately criticized by several Democratic lawmakers, who took issue not only with the humor but also with the hurricane season already being in progress.

Just a day before, the Atlantic hurricane season started officially and it is going to be in force until November 30. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecast an above-normal activity of 60% this year with approximately five major hurricanes.

The Department of Homeland Security, who is in charge of FEMA, soon confirmed that the comment made by Richardson was just a jest. In a statement, a spokesperson of DHS, said, “Despite meanspirited attempts to falsely frame a joke as policy, there is no uncertainty about what FEMA will be during this Hurricane Season.” He emphasized the continuous dedication of FEMA to disaster response and the welfare of the American people.

Despite that, the situation had already been used to criticize the person in question. The leader of the Senate Democrats Charles Schumer posted a question in social media as to why Richardson hadn’t been fired. Senator Ed Markey said Richardson was “incompetent,” while Representative Jasmine Crockett disagreed with the administration’s way of hiring, saying it was rather about “vibes” than expertise.

Richardson, a former Marine combat officer, was appointed last month to temporarily lead FEMA after President Trump dismissed the previous acting administrator Cameron Hamilton. It is interesting that Hamilton was not confirmed by the Senate for the position of the acting head, just as Richardson is now. His dismissal reportedly came after he openly opposed his ideas on scrapping FEMA – which did not align with the direction that the administration was taking at that time.

The organization has been receiving a lot of criticism, as there is a growing pile of emergency aid requests they cannot cope with and a tendency to avoid their responsibilities to the states. In the first months of this year, Trump put his signature on an executive order that was about figuring out if FEMA is operating to the best of its ability and also raised a question of the agency’s structural inefficiency.

At these moments, DHS states that Richardson’s words were not serious and he simply made an inappropriate joke but with the hurricane season nearly there, the words may not be felt funny by everyone.