For those reasons, we’d hate to lose Kidd to the federal government. Politicoreported Monday that the White House had interviewed Kidd for FEMA’s top job months ago, and that it was considering moving FEMA to Texas partly because Kidd wants to stay here.
The rumors reflect the instability and uncertainty that have enveloped the nation’s disaster-response agency since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. FEMA’s most recent acting administrator, David Richardson, abruptly quit on Monday. Richardson had assumed that role after Trump fired the previous acting administrator, Cameron Hamilton, in May. Many of the agency’s leadership positions have been empty for months.
But the uncertainty isn’t limited to personnel. Trump has said he wants toeliminate FEMAand give most of its responsibilities to the states. He appointed a FEMA review council to propose reforms. Its membership includes Kidd and Gov. Greg Abbott, and its report could be released before the end of the year.
As this newspaper has argued, FEMA needs reform. And Kidd could be the right man to serve as FEMA chief in a reform era backed by the right legislation. But it would be foolish to move a major federal agency to suit one person, if that is an accurate reflection of current considerations.
Let’s get a roadmap for reforming FEMA before considering whether the agency should be moved. Clarify its mission and responsibilities, determine its funding level and appropriate personnel count, and clearly communicate to states, local governments and the public at large what its future role will be. Then FEMA leaders can estimate how much space it needs and where the agency can most cost-effectively serve the nation.
Yes, there could be benefits to leaving the Washington region and its high cost of living. Several states, including Texas , have deep pools of emergency management talent and high-quality academic programs in the field. In fact, once FEMA figures out its future, North Texas would be a great location. No hurricanes, major earthquakes or volcanoes, just excellent air and highway connections and communication infrastructure.
If and when FEMA is ready to move, we would raise our hand to be a new HQ. But first things first: Decide what the FEMA of the future looks like.
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