FEMA Acting Administrator Resigns; Administration Mulls Moving Agency to Texas

By Oliver Porter, NLIHC DHR Intern and Noah Patton, NLIHC Director of Disaster Recovery 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is experiencing the latest in a series of shakeups. The agency’s acting administrator, David Richardson, resigned last week, following rumors that he would be fired at the end of the year. Richardson has faced intense scrutiny over being unreachable during the height of the tragic Fourth of July weekend floods in Texas. Karen Evans, the agency’s chief of staff, will become the new acting administrator beginning December 1. This is the second Acting FEMA administrator to be removed this year, following the firing of Cameron Hamilton, who was dismissed from his post after he made comments at a congressional hearing arguing that the agency should be preserved. None of the acting administrators have had significant emergency management experience, a legal requirement for the position.   

Richardson’s resignation occurs amidst the pending release of the FEMA Review Council’s report. The FEMA Review Council was created by President Trump on January 24 via an Executive Order (EO) and tasked with reviewing all aspects of FEMA operations. The Council was created following public statements from members of the Trump administration suggesting that the agency should be dismantled. The council’s report is expected before the end of the year. 

While the report's findings remain unknown, NLIHC’s DHR team will monitor their implications and advise DHRC members as needed, while continuing to support the bipartisan FEMA Act of 2025, which would establish FEMA as an independent agency and institute important reforms to support low-income households.    

The soon-to-be acting administrator, Karen Evans, has worked for FEMA since June. The New York Times reported that “Ms. Evans has played a central role in the Trump administration’s efforts to cut costs at FEMA.” Evans does have prior experience at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); earlier this year, she served as a director at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Evans was also the DHS chief information officer from June 2020 to January 2021 and served in the Bush administration as CIO for the Office of Management and Budget. She was nominated as the DHS undersecretary for management earlier this year, but her nomination was withdrawn.  

According to Politico, in addition to this leadership shake-up, FEMA is reportedly considering relocating to Texas. An official who worked at FEMA shared that the council may recommend relocation in its forthcoming report, which also aligns with the administration’s desire to tap Nim Kidd, head of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, as administrator. The prospect of a move raises significant concerns for the already short-staffed agency, as it would be even more poorly positioned to respond to disasters during the move, which would cost billions of dollars, impede intergovernmental coordination, and make the agency itself more likely to be impacted by events like hurricanes and flooding.