Top Fema official David Richardson resigns

The top official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) has resigned after six months in the role.

Acting head David Richardson stepped down on Monday from the US’s lead disaster response agency. He took over the position in May after his predecessor was removed by Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem.

In a statement to the BBC, the DHS praised Richardson for his “dedicated service” leading Fema as well as overseeing a review “that identified and eliminated serious governmental waste and inefficiency, while refocusing the agency to deliver swift resources to Americans in crisis”.

Current Fema chief of staff Karen Evans will replace Richardson on 1 December.

Fema faced criticism during Richardson’s tenure over its response to devastating floods in Texas during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

More than 130 people were killed when floods ripped through central Texas, including a number of children at a summer camp.

Richardson was criticised for being inaccessible during the early hours of the crisis.

In July, he told a congressional panel that the agency’s response to the disaster was a “model” for how these types of events should be handled, and disputed reports of delayed deployments and other repsonse problems at the agency.

Earlier this year Richardson told colleagues he was unaware the US has a hurricane season, a comment a DHS spokesperson said at the time was a joke.

He is a former Marine combat veteran who was leading the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction office, a role he maintained. The DHS said he will now return to the private sector.

The Trump administration has said reforms at Fema are necessary, saying it was overly bureaucratic and inefficient at delivering disaster relief.

Trump has previously proposed dismantling the agency, saying in June that “we want to wean off of Fema” and have states take on more of the burden of disaster preparedness and response.

The agency is currently under review by a presidential council.

The DHS said on Monday that the council final report is “forthcoming” and “will inform this Administration’s ongoing efforts to fundamentally restructure FEMA”.