Summary
David Richardson resigned as the acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after six months in the role. He will be replaced by current FEMA chief of staff Karen Evans on December 1. During his tenure, FEMA faced criticism for its handling of a major flooding disaster in Texas.
Key Facts
- David Richardson resigned as the acting head of FEMA after six months.
- Richardson became the acting lead in May after the previous head was removed.
- Karen Evans will take over as acting head on December 1.
- FEMA was criticized for its response to floods in Texas where over 130 people died.
- Richardson faced accusations of being unavailable during the initial hours of the crisis.
- He previously told a congressional panel FEMA's response was a "model" for disaster handling.
- The Trump administration views FEMA as overly bureaucratic and inefficient.
- The agency is currently under review by a presidential council to explore restructuring.
