The Trump administration is reportedly considering moving the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Texas, a move that former officials say would pose “huge challenges” for the agency. According to Politico’s E&E News, Texas’s top emergency official, Nim Kidd, is being considered to lead FEMA, but he has declined the position, stating he is “committed to serving Texas first.”
Kidd, who heads the Texas Division of Emergency Management, was interviewed by White House officials in February for the top FEMA role. He sits on a 13-person panel appointed by President Donald Trump that is expected to recommend moving the agency’s headquarters to Texas to accommodate him. One former senior FEMA official noted that moving the headquarters away from D.C. would create challenges since FEMA is managed by the Department of Homeland Security, which is also based in the capital.
The report comes as FEMA Acting Administrator David Richardson resigned after six months on the job. Starting next month, FEMA chief of staff Karen Evans will take over as acting administrator. Richardson had largely taken the blame for the agency’s slow response to catastrophic flash floods in Texas in July, which killed at least 130 people, including 25 children and camp counselors at Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas.
During a press conference after the floods, Kidd criticised the National Weather Service for not accurately predicting the rainfall, saying the amount that fell “was never in any of those forecasts.” The NWS defended its warnings, stating that “Flash Flood Warnings were issued … giving preliminary lead times of more than three hours before warning criteria were met.”
It remains unclear which city or cities are being considered for the possible relocation, and how long such a move would take. The Independent has reached out to Kidd and the White House for comment.
