New head of FEMA, not aware the country had a hurricane season

he started in may, they fired the previous guy

I thought Trump only hired the best people?

If there is an intent to eliminate a particular organization, it stands to reason that you appoint a person who does not care or knows much about its purpose. ETA: Or is actively hostile to it.

Whether or not that intent is well-founded is up for debate, but the action is sound.

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Good luck to my friends on the gulf coast this year

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Maybe some other have some more experience with FEMA but I’ve lived in south LA for 90% of my adult life and I don’t think I have ever seen or spoke to a FEMA representative.

At least he has a sense of humor, of course he knows we have hurricane season

La took matters in its own hands since Katrina
Don’t wait on govt for anything

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At least he has a sense of humor, of course he knows we have hurricane season

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If you’re ever appointed to a position in which everyone knows, and you admit, you are incompetent to perform, you should probably avoid ironic jokes that will be interpreted as evidence of your incompetence.

Just throwing that out there in case you ever need it

Here's a really good, long thread documenting the FEMA response to Helene.

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He is the acting head according to cbsnews.

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…after the acting head of the agency said during a daily briefing that he…

Richardson, a former Marine Corps officer, has led FEMA since early May. It was not clear to staff whether he meant it literally or as a joke

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David Richardson was appointed FEMA Administrator in May after the sudden firing of his predecessor, Cameron Hamilton, who had clashed with the Trump administration over FEMA’s structure. Richardson is a former Marine artillery officer and previously served as assistant secretary in DHS’s counter-weapons division.

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I think the below from Huffington Post is a reason for employee backlash:

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“Now this is the tough part,” Richardson said during the call with staffers across the thousands-strong agency that he understands people can be nervous during times of change. But he had a warning for those who might not like the changes — a group he estimated to be about 20% of any organization.

“Don’t get in my way if you’re those 20% of the people,” he said. “I know all the tricks.”

“Obfuscation. Delay. Undermining. If you’re one of those 20% of the people and you think those tactics and techniques are going to help you, they will not because I will run right over you,” he said. “I will achieve the president’s intent. I am as bent on achieving the president’s intent as I was on making sure that I did my duty when I took my Marines to Iraq.”

…A ‘mission analysis’ is planned for FEMA

In the memos obtained by The Associated Press, Richardson told the agency it would be conducting a “Mission Analysis” of the organization to identify “redundancies and inefficiencies” while also clarifying the organization’s “core” mission and “deterring mission creep.”

He also listed tasks to be accomplished in the coming weeks — including providing internal assessments of the agency’s preparedness for 2025; a list of all known gaps “in preparedness or core capabilities”; a list of lessons learned from past disasters; and an overview of “disaster aid before FEMA’s existence and the role of states and the federal government coordinating disaster management.”

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