The head of disaster response in Texas has withdrawn himself from consideration to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, announced his decision after POLITICO reported Friday that he had been interviewed by White House officials in February and was a leading candidate to be nominated as FEMA administrator.
“While there is some truth to the statement that I have had conversations with President [Donald] Trump and his administration about the future of FEMA, I am committed to serving Texas first,” Kidd wrote in a statement posted on his LinkedIn profile.
Kidd said his agency and the Texas Legislature “are on track” this year to improve emergency response in the nation’s second-most populous state, which has faced huge damage in recent years from hurricanes and wildfires.
