'You were nowhere near Texas!' Dem lays into AWOL FEMA chief over flood response
Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ) scolded acting FEMA director David Richardson for being "nowhere near Texas" in the days after a flood killed scores of people.
During a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing on Wednesday, Stanton noted that Richardson had a duty under the law "to act proactively and not to wait for a request from Governor Abbott to pre-position resources."
"Your staff was pointing the finger at Governor Abbott and say the lack of urban search and rescue proactivity was based upon a late request from the governor's office," the lawmaker explained.
Stanton went on to press Richardson about where he was when the flood hit Texas.
"On July 4th, I was on vacation," the FEMA chief admitted. "I spent the entire vacation in my vehicle speaking on my phone to either the state of Texas or DHS coordinating for the events in Texas."
"Were you on the first plane back to Washington then from your vacation?" Stanton asked.
"I was in my truck," Richardson said, "with my two boys and myself. I was in my truck, I remained in my truck the whole time."
"Secretary Noem was very present. You were not," Stanton remarked. "Mr. Richardson, you were nowhere near Texas at the critical moments in the search and rescue, and you did not even show your face for more than a week after the flood. You are the administrator of this critical agency. You're the leader, but you did not lead as you are required to by federal law."
"But worse, you seem uninterested to learn what went wrong and how to respond better," he continued. "Do the victims and survivors in Texas deserve an apology?"
"What happened in Texas was an absolute tragedy," Richardson responded. "It's hard to fathom. I went to Texas. I flew over. It was an absolute tragedy. My heart goes out to the people in Texas."
"That was intended as a yes or no question, and I'll appropriately take that as a no," Stanton concluded.
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