FEMA’s acting administrator is replaced a day after congressional testimony

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency faced fresh upheaval Thursday just weeks before the start of hurricane season when the acting administrator was pushed out and replaced by another official from the Department of Homeland Security.

The abrupt change came the day after Cameron Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL who held the job for the last few months, testified on Capitol Hill that he did not agree with proposals to dismantle an organization that helps plan for natural disasters and distributes financial assistance.

“I do not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” he said Wednesday.

David Richardson, a former Marine Corps officer who served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa, will run FEMA for the time being. He does not appear to have any experience in managing natural disasters. He currently serves as the Department of Homeland Security’s assistant secretary for countering weapons of mass destruction.

The administration made no statement about any potential permanent nominee. Nor did the White House answer questions about Richardson’s background, the impact of Hamilton’s testimony or whether the president personally ordered his dismissal.

An administration official, who requested anonymity to discuss a personnel matter, said Hamilton was offered another government job that would be a better fit for him, but did not say what that job would be.

Through a January executive order, Trump established a review council tasked with “reforming...

...The abrupt change came the day after Cameron Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL who held the job for the last few months, testified on Capitol Hill that he did not agree with proposals to dismantle an organization that helps plan for natural disasters and distributes financial assistance...

...President Donald Trump has suggested that individual states, not the federal government, should take the lead on hurricanes, tornadoes and other crises. He has been sharply critical of FEMA’s performance, particularly in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene...

It was overwhelming the number of people you had to talk to from FEMA. A different one with another “plan” every time.

One lady told me that she flew into Portland and was in
a hotel. 300 miles away from the Almeda fire I was in.
One called me at 6 am on a Sunday morning. Probably to tell me they lost all the paperwork again. Covid was raging and the Oregon lockdown of everything. Getting a copy made was a major undertaking. The libraries were closed! I can’t tell you how many times I had to drive off and leave everything including FEMA paperwork.

A bureaucratic nightmare.
Local control makes more sense..... except when you are stuck in commie Oregon/California. We can’t put out the next big wildfire after they removed Irongate dam.

First off I am sorry that You are having all this trouble getting Your Life back to some level of normality. Adding You to My Prayers.🙏🙏🙏

The idiots that have been "running" Federal Entity Making A$$}{0£€$ need to be replaced from the top and way down to possibly the very bottom of the entire employee chain !!! Possibly the best personnel in the entire agency will be the Janitorial Department so lets clean house (no pun intended) and let the Janitorial Department Crew run the program for a while !!! It couldn't possibly be any worse than what's been happening !?!? Could it ?

The debacle that happened in Western NC/Eastern TN and Northwestern GA is simply INEXCUSABLE !!!

Greg Biffel a NASCAR Driver was all over the area in His private helicopter ferrying: fuel, medical supplies and equipment, food and other household supplies, generators, Baby Formula, diapers, wipes and many other items for the Babies and Mothers/Fathers to take care of themselves and their Children , bottled water, pretty much anything and everything that would fit in the helicopter AND on the return flight anyone that needed to get out to better Medical care or evacuate the Elderly and anything else that would fit in the chopper would come back to the area. Greg provided the fuel for the chopper and some of the supplies out of His pocket.

He got the rest of NASCAR Teams, Sponsors, Racetracks and more Helicopters directly into the Region. Some of the Teams that come to My mind were Hendrick Motorsports, JRM (Dale Earnhardt Jr) Team, JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing former Redskins Coach) and there were many more.

The BIGGEST OBSTACLE THE NASCAR WORLD HAD WAS fema idiots refusing the help that was offered !!! Things like: Blocking, Obstruction of landing at sites that had been setup for storage and distribution of donated equipment/fuel/food/water and all the other supplies that were INCOMING TO THE AREA !!! The fema IDIOTS if they did allow landing and offloading of all the different items then they would put the donations in the Tent Warehouses BUT NOT ACTUALLY DISTRIBUTE ANYTHING !!!

I need to stop for a while to get My BP down a bit. Recounting this is PISSING ME OFF. Much more available with an Internet search.

The federal government has grown to proportions unimagined by the Founders. Many federal departments and most federal agencies should be shuttered. FEMA is just one example of an agency that should be maintained by the state(s).

Our problem is that everyone is at the trough. Politicians keep overspending to satisfy constituents in order to be reelected. Constituents keep voting for government benefits regardless of the fiscal damage being done.

Term limits and outlawing the political party system could serve to reduce spending and the size of the federal government. Unfortunately, those in power are not willing to reduce their hold on power. This is why we have revolutions.

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