‘I alone will speak on behalf of FEMA,' new agency chief tells staff
The new head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency told staffers Friday morning that he will personally make all decisions at the agency, including those related to disaster payments, according to a former FEMA official who listened to the virtual meeting.
'I don't know if that will last for hours, days or weeks, but I need to get a handle on what's going on in the agency,' FEMA acting Administrator David Richardson said at an all-staff meeting, according to the former official, who was granted anonymity to discuss internal communications.
Richardson succeeded Cameron Hamilton, who was fired Thursday after leading the disaster agency for 3½ months. Richardson's focus on making every decision threatens to drastically slow down FEMA operations, including the payment of disaster aid and grants to states, the former official said. Agency leaders have typically delegated such decisions.
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'It'll slow down everything. How can everything funnel through one person? He will have to figure out who he can trust and delegate some authority,' the former official told POLITICO's E&E News.
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