The federal government’s disaster agency will be in a “transition phase” during the upcoming hurricane season and will likely continue business as usual, the new agency administrator told employees Thursday.
“It’s not going to look entirely differently from how we did it in 2024,” the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency told FEMA staffers during a virtual staff meeting, according to a recording obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News.
“The No. 1 priority is to make sure the American people are well-served in this disaster season,” FEMA acting administrator David Richardson added.
Richardson, who was named FEMA acting administrator on May 8 after the firing of Cameron Hamilton, fielded employee questions during the 30-minute meeting. He cast doubt on the likelihood that the agency will be abolished, as President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have suggested.
