Another shakeup at FEMA has just dropped, signaling more turbulence for an agency already caught in the crosshairs of reform.
Newsweek reported that David Richardson, acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, tendered his resignation on Monday, after a stormy six-month tenure marked by internal frustration, operational missteps, and intense scrutiny from the Trump administration’s drive to overhaul disaster response.
Let’s rewind to May 2025, when Richardson, a former Marine Corps artillery officer with zero disaster management experience, stepped into the acting role after Cameron Hamilton was pushed out by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for clashing with the administration’s goal to dismantle FEMA.
Early on, Richardson’s lack of expertise raised eyebrows, with reports of him quipping in a June 2025 meeting that he didn’t even know the U.S. had a hurricane season—a remark the Department of Homeland Security later brushed off as a jest.
Then came the catastrophic Texas floods in July 2025, claiming over 130 lives, while Richardson was nowhere to be found, vacationing and unreachable for critical hours in the crisis’s early stages.
He surfaced over a week later for a surprise Texas visit, long after President Trump and Secretary Noem had already toured the devastation, leaving many to wonder if he was leading or just playing catch-up.
Behind closed doors, whispers of political bias emerged, with a FEMA official claiming Richardson inquired about diverting disaster funds to Republican-leaning areas while sidelining Democratic ones—a move that, if true, reeks of partisan gamesmanship over public safety.
Meanwhile, current FEMA staff noted Richardson had disengaged from day-to-day operations in recent months, and plans to oust him were reportedly brewing even before he submitted his two-week notice to DHS.
Privately, Richardson admitted he didn’t expect to stay past Thanksgiving 2025, a self-fulfilling prophecy as his exit now paves the way for Chief of Staff Karen Evans to take over on December 1, 2025.
On the flip side, DHS praised Richardson for securing unprecedented funding for states like North Carolina, Texas, Florida, New Mexico, and Alaska, while also spearheading a review that exposed government waste and inefficiency.
Yet, under the Trump administration’s reform push, FEMA faces a gauntlet of legal battles, operational hurdles, and funding delays, with state emergency officials grappling with slashed preparedness grants and new bureaucratic red tape stalling aid.
Last month, a senior district judge slammed the administration for imposing “unlawful” conditions on FEMA grants, defying prior court orders, while Secretary Noem’s stance since January 2025—scrutinizing funds for Democrat-led areas—has only fanned the flames of controversy.
Critics haven’t held back, with Cameron Hamilton, Richardson’s predecessor, telling CNN, “He never should have been there to begin with,” describing him as “unprofessional and overwhelmed.”
A former high-ranking FEMA official also warned CNN, “FEMA likely would have failed had there been a major disaster,” suggesting the absence of a larger catastrophe has conveniently bolstered the administration’s narrative that FEMA might be unnecessary.