Acting Fema head resigns after furor over handling of deadly Texas flooding

The acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) is leaving the agency, a senior Trump administration official said on Monday.

David Richardson resigned after only a brief stint leading the agency amid a furor over his responsiveness, especially during the catastrophic flooding in Texas during the summer that swept away a children’s camp and killed more than 130 people.

The Trump administration has been vocal about wanting to dismantle Fema and the Washington Post was first to report on Monday that Richardson had handed in his resignation after six months doing the job.

Richardson’s departure was confirmed by an unnamed official, according to Reuters, and is taking place while the Atlantic hurricane season is still under way.

He is a former US Marine Corps officer and becomes the second Fema head to leave or be fired since May. Richardson has been accused of keeping a low profile during the deadly Texas flash floods in July. He had already baffled staff in June when he said he was unaware the country had a hurricane season.

The Trump administration official familiar with Richardson’s departure gave no reasons for the Fema chief stepping down.

It was not immediately clear on Monday who Richardson’s successor will be. Richardson’s predecessor was fired in May, after pushing back against Trump administration efforts to dismantle the agency.

Donald Trump has said he wants to greatly reduce the size of Fema, which is the agency currently responsible for preparing for and responding to natural disasters in the US, although the president has said state governments can handle many of the federal agency’s functions.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees Fema, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Richardson’s abrupt departure is an ignominious end for an official who told staff when he first arrived in May that he would “run right over” anyone who resists changes and that all decisions must go through him.

“I, and I alone in Fema, speak for Fema,” he said at the time. Fema has lost about 2,500 employees since January through buyouts, firings and other incentives for staff to quit, reducing its overall size to about 23,350, according to a September Government Accountability Office report.

The cuts are part of Trump’s broader push to cut the cost and size of the federal civilian workforce.

Reuters contributed reporting