BREAKING: Acting FEMA Chief Abruptly Resigns
by Cristina Laila Nov. 17, 2025 1:40 pm
Acting FEMA Chief David Richardson resigned on Monday, according to CBS News.
David Richardson, a Marine Corps veteran and assistant secretary for DHS’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, was appointed to assume the duties of FEMA Administrator in May after Cameron Hamilton was abruptly removed from the post.
“Mr. Richardson led FEMA through the 2025 hurricane season, delivering historic funding to North Carolina, Texas, Florida, New Mexico and Alaska, and overseeing a comprehensive review that identified and eliminated serious governmental waste and inefficiency, and refocused the agency to deliver swift resources to Americans in crisis,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement.
On December 1, FEMA Chief of Staff Karen Evans will take over as Acting FEMA Administrator.
“Starting Dec. 1, FEMA chief of staff Karen Evans will assume the role of acting administrator, the spokesperson said. The DHS statement indicates that Richardson also is leaving his job as head of the department’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, which Trump has sought to close,” Politico reported.
CBS News reported:
David Richardson, the acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is leaving his post, according to five current and former homeland security officials familiar with the decision. Richardson submitted his resignation Monday morning, the officials said.
He served as FEMA’s “Senior Official Performing the Duties” of administrator since May 8, 2025, when Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem abruptly removed his predecessor, Cameron Hamilton. Before leading FEMA, Richardson was Assistant Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office.
Earlier this year, Acting FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton was abruptly removed from his post, just one day after publicly opposing the administration’s push to abolish the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Hamilton, a proud Trump supporter and former Navy SEAL who led FEMA since January, was reportedly escorted out of the agency’s headquarters after clashing with Trump and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem’s vision to dismantle FEMA, according to sources cited by CNN.
President Trump has vowed to reduce the size of FEMA or eliminate the agency.
“I’ll also be signing an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA or maybe getting rid of FEMA,” Trump told the reporters during the press conference in January.
“Frankly, FEMA is not good. I think when you have a problem like this, you want to go. Whether it’s a Democrat or Republican governor, you want to use your state to fix it and not waste time calling FEMA,” Trump added.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/11/acting-fema-chief-resigns/
