'You’re on your own': This Trump official is 'missing in action' during a 'critical time'

10 July

People attend a prayer service for flood victims in Kerrville, Texas, U.S., July 9, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Following the flash floods in Central Texas that claimed at least 119 lives over the 4th of July Weekend, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been the face of the Trump Administration's response to the tragedy. And she is drawing a lot of criticism from Democrats for calling for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to be eliminated its current form.

Another criticism of Noem and President Donald Trump, following the tragedy, is that they are climate change deniers at a time when climate change is leading to major disasters like the one in Central Texas.

But one thing that many media outlets are overlooking, according to Salon's Sophia Tesfaye, is Acting FEMA Director David Richardson's lack of visibility after that devastating event.

In an article published on July 10, Tesfaye reports, "Nearly one week after flash floods devastated the Texas Hill Country and killed at least 119 people, it appears the acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency isn't acting much at all to lead his agency's response to the disaster — and the media isn't bothering to ask why he is missing in action at such a critical time. Acting FEMA Director David Richardson was appointed by President Donald Trump to lead the agency in early May after Cameron Hamilton, the former acting chief, was ousted one day after breaking with the (Trump) Administration."

Tesfaye notes that Richardson hasn't been "quoted in a media report" in "two months" and that many media reports on the flooding in Central Texas don't even mention that FEMA has an acting director.

"As of Wednesday, (July 9)," Tesfaye explains, "Richardson had not visited the state. Instead, Noem went to the remains of the Camp Mystic site on Saturday. On Wednesday, she told Trump's council of cabinet members, governors and emergency management experts — which included Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott — who are tasked with recommending changes to FEMA that 'this entire agency needs to be eliminated as it existed and remade into a responsive agency'…. As residents of the Texas Hill Country grieve the lost and pray for the missing, it's never been more clear that the Trump Administration's response to natural disasters is 'you're on your own' — and the mainstream media seems to allow them to get away with it every time."

Tesfaye adds, "How many scandals and crises need to happen before the press says, 'Hey, is it weird that the country is consumed with chaos?'"

Sophia Tesfaye's full article for Salon is available at this link.

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