The New FEMA Head Just Said He Was Unaware About Hurricane Season...
Everyone but the FEMA head, it appears, knows about hurricane season.
Published June 5 2025, 4:42 p.m. ET
FEMA head David Richardson appears at the center of a FEMA conference table.
In an utterly frightening, downright troubling speech, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) head, David Richardson, said that he was unaware the U.S. has a hurricane season. You read that correctly: the head of the country's leading disaster agency claimed in a briefing on June 2 that he did not know the U.S. has a season during which hurricanes are prevalent.
Richardson has been leading FEMA since May 2025, and the remarks signal an inauspicious start to his tenure.
Below, we report on Richardson's comments, what the fallout has been, and whether or not any U.S. agencies have since tried to perform damage control on the wildly inexcusable comments.
Keep reading to better understand why Richardson said what he said, and how his comments have since been received by governmental officials and the public alike.
What did the FEMA chief say about hurricane season?
Richardson, formally titled the Senior Official Performing the Duties of FEMA Administrator, said he was not aware that the country has a hurricane season, multiple sources confirmed to Reuters.
"It was not clear to staff whether he meant it literally, as a joke, or in some other context," per Reuters.
"Richardson's comments come amid widespread concern that the departures of a raft of top FEMA officials, staff cuts, and reductions in hurricane preparations will leave the agency ill-prepared for a storm season forecast to be above normal," per Reuters.
Put simply, whether or not Richardson was kidding or being completely serious regarding his ignorance that a hurricane season exists in the U.S., his comments nevertheless struck a chord with critics worried about FEMA's future.
The damage control is already underway, as agencies seek to clean up the mess Richardson made with his ignorant comments. According to NBC News, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that Richardson was just joking when he made his inane comment.
“Despite meanspirited attempts to falsely frame a joke as policy, there is no uncertainty about what FEMA will be doing this Hurricane Season," a spokesperson for DHS said, via NBC News. "FEMA is laser focused on disaster response, and protecting the American people."
Richardson, the spokesperson said, is “activated in preparation for Hurricane Season.”
Nevertheless, multiple reports say that FEMA staffers were baffled by Richardson's comments. It is particularly troubling, as NBC News notes, that Richardson's predecessor was removed from his role after saying that FEMA should not be eliminated.
"President Donald Trump and his allies have repeatedly floated the idea of terminating the emergency disaster agency," per the report.
The hits continued piling on, as prominent Democratic figures have taken to social media to blast Richardson. To wit: Minnesota's Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar wrote on her X account: "Bare minimum requirement for the leader of FEMA: know when hurricane season is."
New York Senator and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer also took to X to add: "And I’m unaware of why he hasn’t been fired yet."