By Ted Hesson and Nathan Layne
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency announced the departure of 16 senior executives on Wednesday, a significant shakeup of its leadership ranks less than two weeks before the start of what is expected to be a busy hurricane season.
Those leaving include MaryAnn Tierney, a 26-year emergency management veteran who until May 9 had been the agency’s acting No. 2, as well as key people in finance and disaster response, according to internal emails seen by Reuters.
The agency, which coordinates the federal response to natural disasters, has been roiled by the loss of hundreds of staff and low morale since finding itself targeted by President Donald Trump.
Trump wants FEMA to be shrunk or even abolished, arguing that many of its functions can be carried out by the states.
The changes have, however, disrupted the agency’s planning for the hurricane season, stoking concern that it will be ill-equipped to deal with any disaster.
The departures unveiled on Wednesday follow the abrupt firing of FEMA’s then-acting administrator Cameron Hamilton earlier this month. The agency’s new leader, David Richardson, has vowed to “run right over” staff who resist reforms.
In emails to staff, acting FEMA chief of staff Julia Moline thanked the departing executives and announced several replacements, including the appointment of Cynthia Spishak as acting deputy administrator, the role Tierney held.
FEMA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The mass departure of senior talent represents a significant loss of institutional knowledge that will further degrade FEMA’s capacity to respond to disasters, said Michael Coen, former FEMA chief of staff under the administrations of former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Coen called Tierney, a regional administrator who has managed over 100 disaster and emergency declarations for an area that includes Pennsylvania and Delaware, a “leader of leaders” and said she “will be the most significant loss.”
Tierney said her decision to resign was not easy.
“FEMA is not a job, it’s a calling,” Tierney said in a statement to Reuters. “It was a privilege to serve alongside a team of people who dedicate themselves to helping their fellow Americans on their worst day.”
Other departing executives include acting chief financial officer Monroe Neal; Eric Leckey, who was responsible for human resources and other management support functions; and Leiloni Stainsby, a high-ranking executive in the agency’s office overseeing response and recovery operations.
Forecasters have predicted a busier-than-average Atlantic hurricane season, which starts June 1.
Representative Bennie Thompson, the senior Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee with oversight of FEMA, said in a statement that the exit of so many senior executives exacerbated his concerns about the agency.
“Decimating FEMA’s leadership will do nothing to help the agency prepare for the upcoming hurricane season,” he said.
Richardson has promised the agency will be prepared.
Earlier on Wednesday, he sent a memo to staff rescinding the agency’s strategic plan for 2022-2026 because it “contained objectives that bear no connection to FEMA accomplishing its mission.” Richardson said in the memo that a new strategy for 2026-2030 would be developed this summer.
(Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington and Nathan Layne in New York; Editing by Donna Bryson and Edwina Gibbs)
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