People Are Being “Mean” About FEMA Chief’s Hurricane Comment, DHS Says
Trump’s acting FEMA head made an outrageous comment about hurricane season. Now the administration is trying to defend him.

The Department of Homeland Security says people are being a little too mean after acting FEMA head David Richardson said he didn’t know the United States had a hurricane season.
Richardson, who has led the emergency aid agency since last month, made the comment at a briefing on Monday that was first reported by Reuters.
The U.S. hurricane season began Sunday and will end in late November. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts “above-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin this year,” with as many as 10 hurricanes on the forecast.
The national reaction to Richardson’s comment has been one of shock, disbelief, and outrage, with many Democratic lawmakers swiftly calling for his removal. But DHS, which oversees FEMA, says people are being a bit too mean.
“Despite meanspirited attempts to falsely frame a joke as policy, there is no uncertainty about what FEMA will be doing this Hurricane Season,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement to media outlets. “FEMA is laser focused on disaster response, and protecting the American people.”
Richardson initially joined the Trump administration in January as assistant secretary for DHS’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, after previously serving in the United States Marine Corps as a ground combat officer. His qualifications to lead FEMA are unclear.