We should be nicer to the guy. After all, he figured out by himself that he did not belong in his position. It’s a pity he didn’t do so sooner. But he has now, and this is a Good Thing. Nepotism means nothing if you can’t do the job. He couldn’t. There’s no way to get around it. He just couldn’t do it. From Raw Story:
Reactions erupted Monday after the acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency gave his resignation. 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 in his letter that he plans to step down in two weeks. Department of Homeland Security officials reportedly had planned to remove the FEMA chief from the role, according to reports.
Maybe he thought that if he resigned first, he could save what little was left of his dignity. It doesn’t seem like he had any in the first place, or he would not have accepted a job for which he was ridiculously UNDERqualified. FEMA leader for 6 months is not a good thing to put on a resume. And his name is known, so he couldn’t pretend it never happened. He’d be better off retiring and living a quiet life, assuming his city/town doesn’t tell him to leave, which would be an ironic justice. Or to be awesomely petty, make him live in a flood zone for a couple of years.
People didn’t hesitate to respond to the news on social media: “Good riddance, Dave! See you never!” Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) wrote on X. //// “Another incompetent Trump official steps down — and not a moment too soon. In honor of his last day, here’s a throwback to his ‘defense’ of his disastrous response to the Texas hurricane relief effort,” Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) wrote on X. [Edit: he may have intended it to mean the floods.]
Scorched! He’d better get something for that burn. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer idiot. What was he thinking? And why wasn’t he doing? Surely there could have been a few people left who could have guided him. Of course, we mustn’t forget Kristi Gnome and her “damn near everything needing money has to be approved by me” hogwash. She was just as much at fault, if not more so! If you are in disaster response, you shouldn’t have to wait for a check to be signed. But they did have to, and it was a disaster in itself. Here are a few more comments, and then we’ll close.
“Trump’s FEMA director — the guy who replaced the YouTuber — just quit. FEMA has now been leaderless for over a year. This is what failure looks like,” California Gov. Newsom’s press office wrote on X. //// “FEMA, you’re doing a heck of a job,” law professor and author Jen Taub wrote on Bluesky. //// “Richardson should never been in a position he was unqualified for. At one point he told FEMA staff ‘I and I alone speak for FEMA.’ In the last few weeks, DHS refused to let him talk to media. Another agency rendered rudderless because the administration does not want to see it function,” Professor Don Moynihan wrote on Bluesky.
WHAM. He’s been shredded up one side and down the other. Those reactions really showed how much he didn’t belong in the position. He should have called it quits after the Texas debacle. Well, he finally did. We’re rid of him. Maybe they’ll find someone who actually has a clue, but that would be the first smart thing done by the Trump administration thus far. Let’s not get our hopes up.
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This is it in a nutshell-“Another agency rendered rudderless because the administration does not want to see it function,” Professor Don Moynihan wrote on Bluesky.