Richardson is the second interim official appointed by President Donald Trump to lead FEMA since the start of his second term.
Published November 17, 2025
David Richardson, acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is resigning, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Monday’s announcement ends a difficult term. The incident occurred just six months after Richardson took the job, while the Atlantic hurricane season was still underway.
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Richardson, a former Marine Corps officer, is the second FEMA administrator to resign or be fired since May. He has come under fire for keeping a low profile during the July floods in Texas that killed 130 people, and embarrassed staff in June when he said he didn’t know the country was in hurricane season.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson did not provide a reason for the FEMA director’s resignation. The Washington Post first reported Richardson’s departure.
A DHS spokesperson said in a statement that Richardson will be replaced by Karen Evans, FEMA’s chief of staff, and that FEMA and DHS highly value Richardson’s work.
Richardson’s predecessor, Cameron Hamilton, was fired in May after resisting efforts under President Donald Trump to dismantle the agency.
President Trump has said he wants to significantly reduce the size of FEMA, the federal agency responsible for preparing for and responding to natural disasters, and argued that state governments could take on many of its functions.
FEMA plays a central role in the United States’ response to large-scale disasters, including hurricanes. The Atlantic hurricane season is scheduled to end this month.
Mr. Richardson has made fewer public appearances than FEMA leaders under previous presidents, and has rarely appeared in public. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has served as the face of the administration’s response to natural disasters during President Trump’s second term.
Mr Richardson’s sudden resignation is an ignominious end for the official, who told staff when he first arrived in May that anyone who resisted change would be “soon to be run over” and that from now on all decisions must be made by Mr Richardson.
“I, and I alone at FEMA, speak for FEMA,” he said at the time.
FEMA has lost about 2,500 employees since January through buyouts, layoffs and other employee retirements, reducing its overall size to about 23,350, according to a September report from the Government Accountability Office.
The cuts are part of President Trump’s broader push to reduce the cost and size of the federal civilian workforce.
