Trump's FEMA chief admits to staff he didn't know there was a hurricane season

President Donald Trump's head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency stupefied staffers with an admission he wasn't even aware there was a hurricane season, Reuters reported on Monday.

"The remark was made by David Richardson, who has led FEMA since early May. It was not clear to staff whether he meant it literally, as a joke, or in some other context," said the report by Leah Douglas, Ted Hesson, and Nathan Layne. However, "a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA's parent agency, said the comment was a joke and that FEMA is prepared for hurricane season."

Hurricanes typically are clustered in the time span between June and November, fueled by the summer heat driving up the energy of the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Experts expect as many as 10 hurricanes could form this year — a deadly natural disaster that can kill and injure dozens every year, swamp coastal communities, and even cause intense flooding hundreds of miles inland, as happened in Western North Carolina last year.

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Despite DHS assurances, "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," noted the report.

Richardson did not have any natural disaster response experience prior to his appointment to the FEMA role. However, the report noted, he "has evoked his military experience as a former Marine artillery officer in conversations with staff."

Trump, since taking office, has made several moves alarming emergency preparedness experts. A few months ago, a judge in Rhode Island found credible evidence that the Trump administration was "covertly" denying disaster aid to states that hadn't voted for him in the 2024 election. Meanwhile, some North Carolina residents have reportedly been incensed at the president's lack of follow-through on his election campaign commitments to clean up hurricane-ravaged areas there.