FEMA chief slips into Texas for rare public appearance

By Thomas Frank | 07/15/2025 06:57 AM EDT

The visit by acting Administrator David Richardson is his first known trip to a disaster site since President Donald Trump made him FEMA’s top official.

FEMA acting Administrator David Richardson meets with emergency workers Saturday in Kerr County, Texas.

FEMA acting Administrator David Richardson meets with emergency workers Saturday in Kerr County, Texas. Texas Division of Emergency Management/LinkedIn

He wore blue jeans, rings on three fingers, cowboy boots and a straw planters hat.

Federal Emergency Management Agency leader David Richardson, making a rare public appearance, visited the site of deadly flash flooding in Texas in a trip that was neither announced nor promoted beyond five government photos on social media.

Richardson’s trip Saturday to Kerr County, Texas, where at least 132 people were killed, was his first known visit to a disaster site since President Donald Trump named him FEMA acting administrator May 8 after firing his first agency acting administrator.

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The visit came amid ongoing questions about Richardson, a former Marine officer with a background in weapons of mass destruction and no apparent emergency management experience.

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