New FEMA head may force agency to leave DC because he 'refuses to leave Texas': report

A top emergency official is reportedly refusing to leave Texas — and potentially could force the Federal Emergency Management Agency to move to the Lone Star State.

This could present "huge challenges" for the agency to coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security, a former FEMA official told Politico on Monday.

DHS oversees FEMA, whose top leader announced he was stepping down from the top role, and his potential replacement — Nim Kidd, head of the Texas Division of Emergency Management — could be up for the job next.

The move follows the news that David Richardson, a Kristi Noem ally who was criticized after he was publicly silent for a week following floods in Texas that killed more than 130 people, announced that he plans to resign. Department of Homeland Security officials reportedly had planned to remove the FEMA chief from the role after his six-month stint.

FEMA chief of staff Karen Evans will take on the interim position of administrator beginning Dec. 1.

A former FEMA official told The Politico that a panel appointed by President Donald Trump is planning to consider moving the agency to Texas to oblige Kidd, who apparently did not want to leave his home state, and is one of the 13 members of the review panel who remains close to the Trump administration.

“The admin wanted him, but he refused to leave Texas,” a FEMA source told the outlet.