Former head of FEMA slams Obama’s ‘botched’ response to Louisiana floods

Aug 22, 2016

Michael Brown, the former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is speaking out against President Obama’s response to the flooding in Louisiana, criticizing the sitting president for not calling off his vacation to visit Louisiana before now.

“He could have gone to Lilly Armstrong Airport in New Orleans and made a statement there, or at the very least, what he should have done,” Brown, who was largely criticized when he was director of FEMA in 2005 over the response to Hurricane Katrina, said, according to Washington Examiner. “The president needs to make sure that the entire Cabinet, that all of the departments and agencies of the federal government, know that if the FEMA director asks for anything, by damn, give it to him…”

The flooding in Louisiana has already claimed the lives of thirteen people as over 70,000 people have registered for individual assistance. While about 9,000 people have filed flood insurance claims, the federal government has also been criticized for telling residents in the area that they did not need flood insurance, meaning many people are being denied assistance because they do not have insurance despite being told that it was not necessary.

The president has declared a state of emergency for Louisiana and has announced plans to visit on Tuesday.