Acting FEMA chief fired weeks ahead of hurricane season

WASHINGTON (TNND) — The acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency was fired on Thursday, a day after telling lawmakers during a hearing that he did not believe that the agency he oversaw should be eliminated.

Several outlets reported acting FEMA administrator Cameron Hamilton was terminated Thursday morning, which leaves the federal government’s top disaster agency without a leader with the Atlantic hurricane season only weeks away from starting.

David Richardson, a senior official at the Department of Homeland Security, will be taking over the agency as its new administrator.

Hurricane season starts on June 1.

Hamilton’s firing came one day after he told lawmakers on a House Appropriations subcommittee that the U.S. needs FEMA that the administration has considered getting rid of or shrinking its footprint.

“I do not believe it is in the best interests of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” Hamilton said at the hearing. He also said that the decision about FEMA’s future was not up to him.

President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have been critical of FEMA’s ability to provide disaster aid and suggested states should take on more responsibility for relief efforts. Trump signed an executive order after retaking office calling for a “full-scale review” of the agency by a newly created council.

“Frankly, FEMA’s not good. I think when you have a problem like this, I think you want to go. And, whether it’s a Democrat or a Republican governor, you want to use your state to fix it and not waste time calling FEMA,” Trump said in January.